In June 2025, Doha (Qatar) based Qatar Airways has retained the World’s Best Airline for 2025, winning the title for the 9th time at the Skytrax’s World Airline Awards 2025 which was held at Paris Air Show, in the Air and Space Museum at the fabulous art deco Hall of Eight Columns of Le Bourget Airport in Paris (France).
- Qatar Airways won awards in various other categories, including Best Airline in the Middle East, World’s Best Business Class, and World’s Best Inflight Entertainment.
- Singapore Airlines secured the 2nd position, followed by Cathay Pacific Airways from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), China in 3rd place, while Dubai (United Arab Emirates)-based Emirates and Japan-based ANA – All Nippon Airways were ranked 4th and 5th, respectively.
- IndiGo, India’s largest airline by market cap has been named as the Best Airline as well as Best Low-Cost Airline in South Asia for 2025 and it also secured the 3rd position among low-cost airlines
About World Airline Awards :
i.The World Airline Awards are a non-profit section of Skytrax business, instituted to ensure an ethical and independent awards process.
ii.The awards were started in 1999, when Skytrax launched its 1st international, annual airline customer satisfaction survey.
iii.These awards are widely known as the ‘Oscars of the aviation industry’, which is decided through international voting.
Methodology:
i.It is the world’s largest, annual airline passenger satisfaction survey conducted by London (the United Kingdom, UK) based Skytrax.
ii.The survey saw the participation of over 100 customer nationalities. The customer survey was provided in 7 different languages: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, Japanese and Chinese.
iii.Customers nominated their favourite airline, and ranked their satisfaction from scale 1 to 5 for various aspects of the travel experience.
iv.This year winners were decided based on votes collected from surveys of around 22.3 million customers, from September 2024 to May 2025, and covered over 325 global airlines.
Highlights of World Airline Awards 2025 :
i.Singapore Airlines, a 5-time ‘World’s Best Airline’ title holder, ranked at 2ndposition in 2025 and was also recognised as World’s Best Cabin Crew, World’s Best 1st Class and one of the Best Airlines in Asia.
ii.Other World’s Top 10 Airlines for 2025: Turkish Airlines (6th), Korean Air (7th), Air France (8th), Japan Airlines (9th) and Hainan Airlines (10th ).
- Air France won awards in various categories such as: the Best Airline in Western Europe, the World’s Best First Class Comfort Amenities and its Paris CDG Terminal 2 won the World’s Best First Class Lounge Dining Award.
iii.Taiwanese airline, STARLUX Airlines won the 2025 award as the World’s Most Improved Airline as its overall ranking improved from 34th (2024) to 18th (2025).
- It is followed by Italy based ITA Airways (2nd) and Hong Kong SAR of China based HK Express (3rd), 100% is owned by Cathay Pacific Airways.
iv.Canadian Airline, Air Transat has been recognised as the World’s Best Leisure Airline for 2025, winning the title for the 3rd consecutive time.
- It is followed by the United Kingdom (UK) based TUI Airways (2nd) and SunExpress (3rd), a Turkish-German airline based in Antalya (Turkey).
v.Lufthansa clinched the World’s Most Family Friendly Airline title for 2025, followed by British Airways (2nd) and Emirates (3rd).
vi.Taiwan-based STARLUX Airlines was honoured with the 2025 Skytrax award for being the World’s Most Improved Airline.
vii.Malaysia-based AirAsia retained its title as the World’s Best Low-Cost Airline in 2025, a distinction it has held every year since 2010. Meanwhile, Singapore-based Scoot was recognised as the World’s Best Long-Haul Low-Cost Airline.
World’s Top 5 Airlines in 2025:
| Rank | Name of the Airline | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qatar Airways | Doha, Qatar |
| 2 | Singapore Airlines | Singapore City, Singapore |
| 3 | Cathay Pacific Airways | Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China |
| 4 | Emirates | Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) |
| 5 | ANA All Nippon Airways | Tokyo, Japan |
| 39 | Indigo | Gurugram(Haryana), India |
Top 5 Best Airlines in India/South Asia 2025:
| Rank | Name of the Airline | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | IndiGo | Gurugram, Haryana (India) |
| 2 | Air India | Gurugram, Haryana (India) |
| 3 | SriLankan Airlines | Katunayake (Sri Lanka) |
| 4 | Akasa Air | Mumbai, Maharashtra (India) |
| 5 | SpiceJet | Gurugram, Haryana (India) |
Region-Wise:
i.The Regional Airline Awards are for airlines that mainly operate domestic or international flights up to approximately 6 hours (hrs).
ii.Bangkok Airways won the World’s Best Regional Airline for the 9th consecutive year. It is followed by Virgin Australia (2nd) and Porter Airlines (3rd).
iii.Ethiopian Airlines was named Best Airline in Africa in 2025 for the 7th consecutive year. Qatar Airways secured the Best Airlines in the Middle East in 2025.
iv.Qantas Airways won the Best Airline in Australia/Pacific category for the 2nd time; followed by Air New Zealand (2nd) and Fiji Airways (3rd).
v.Turkish Airlines won the Best Airline in Europe award. It has also won the award for World’s Best Business Class Onboard Catering and as the Best Airline in Southern Europe.
- German low-cost carrier Eurowings won the Best Low-Cost Airline in Europe award for the first time at the World Airline Awards.
vi.JetSMART was named the Best Low-Cost Airline in South America.Air Canada was honoured as the Best Airline in North America, while its Toronto Pearson Signature Suite won the award for Best Business Class Lounge Dining.
Click here for the complete list of Winners of Best Regional Airlines 2025
Indian Airlines:
i.IndiGo, ranked at 39th position in the World’s Top 100 Airlines for 2025 (up from 42nd in 2024).
- It has also been ranked as World’s 3rd Best Low-Cost Airline, after Malaysia-based AirAsia (1st), and Singapore-based Scoot (2nd).
ii.Air India has overall improved its ranking on the World’s Top 100 Airlines for 2025, moving up from 90th spot (in 2024) to 84th spot (in 2025).
- It has also been ranked at 2nd position in the Best Airline in South Asia for 2025.
iii.This year total 5 Indian Airlines namely, IndiGo, Air India, Akasa Air (4th), SpiceJet (5th), and Air India Express (6th), featured on the list of World’s Best Airlines in South Asia.
About Skytrax:
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Edward Plaisted
Headquarters- London, the United Kingdom (UK)
Established- 1989
