Singapore unseats Qatar Airways as ‘World’s Best Airline’

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Qatar Airways won in the category of World’s Best Business Class at the 2023 World Airline Awards ceremony.

Qatar Airways has been dethroned by Singapore Airlines (SIA), which has been crowned the world’s best airline for the second consecutive year, according to a global poll of over 20 million travellers.

Previously, in the years 2019, 2021, and 2022, SIA had secured the second-place position in the annual world rankings conducted by Skytrax, a research firm based in London.

During the survey period spanning from September 2022 to May 2023, travellers from over 100 nationalities provided their ratings for more than 325 airlines.

According to the poll results, Qatar Airways secured the second position, followed by Japan’s All Nippon Airways in third place. Emirates and Japan Airlines claimed the fourth and fifth spots, respectively.

Last year, Qatar Airways was named the world’s best airline at the 2022 World Airline Awards for the seventh time. The airline previously won the award in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022.

Separately, Qatar Airways won in the category of World’s Best Business Class at the 2023 World Airline Awards ceremony held at the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace in on Tuesday.

Hamad International Airport

With regards to best airports globally, Changi Airport in Singapore reclaimed its title in March after Qatar held it for two years, during the peak of pandemic travel restrictions.

At the 2023 Skytrax World Airport Awards, the Asian hub pushed Doha’s Hamad International Airport into second place, with Tokyo’s Haneda Airport taking third.

Customer satisfaction surveys were used to decide the Skytrax World Airport Awards.

Hamad International Airport won the “Best Overall Airport in the World” title at the 19th Annual Global Traveler Tested Reader Survey Awards, which was decided by readers and frequent business and upscale travellers.

The airport received the title of “Best Airport in the Middle East” for the sixth consecutive year.

The airport underwent various vast changes to accommodate the country’s biggest event, the FIFA World Cup 2022.

Among the most notable upgrades is The Orchard, 6,000 square metre indoor tropical garden located in the heart of the recently expanded terminal.

The 575 square metre water feature, which is an aquatic plant installed in a sustainable bio pond, serves as one of the airport’s main attractions.

Over 300 trees and more than 25,000 plants from sustainable forests all over the world are displayed in The Orchard.

Thanks to the expansion, the airport can now accommodate more than 58 million passengers.