The best airline in the world? It seems to be a matter of opinion. Although there are many things that can go wrong before, during and after a flight that can be objectively evaluated. Each year, Tripadvisor makes a good attempt to find the best airlines in the world, based on travellers’ reviews. Interestingly, this year there are some interesting changes.

Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards

Each year, Tripadvisor surveys thousands of travellers around the globe on their experiences. This is valuable information for the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards. Not only airlines can get an award, but also hotels, destinations, attractions, restaurants and even beaches. For each category there is a top 10. For some categories it is also possible to zoom in on regional or country level.

Best Airline

Last year (1) Singapore Airlines, (2) Qatar Airways and (3) EVA Air made up the top 3. Emirates, Japan Airlines (JAL), Southwest Airlines, Azul, Air New Zealand and Jet2 followed suit. All Nippon Airways (ANA) closed off with the 10th place.

What about this year? Well, things have indeed changed! Emirates plummets to the last spot in the Top 10. Qatar Airways also makes big drop from #2 all the way to #9. Virgin Atlantic is new in the ranking, at least compared to last year. VA is now on spot 8. EVA Air goes from the third place to #7. Air New Zealand goes from #8 to a better #6. Jet2 now is on #5. On fourth place you will now find JAL.

In the top 3: Korean Air is on #3. The airline from Seoul also wasn’t in the ranking last year. On #2 is Singapore Airlines. The Star Alliance member was best best of the best last year. The Brazilian airline Azul was on #7 last year, but is now the best of the best with a spot on #1.

Curious about our experiences with carriers like Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Virgin Atlantic and Korean Air? Then have a look at our Flight Reviews.

Azul Lineas Aerias

The new ranking results in the surprising conclusion that airlines like Emirates, Qatar Airways and EVA Air have received worse review than last year. On the other hand, the Brazilian airline Azul is now the best airline of the world according to travellers that have submitted reviews to Tripadvisor. Azul is the first Brazilian airline to receive such an Award. With 144 aircraft the airliner (normally) serves 116 destinations in and outside of Latin America. Last year, Azul was awarded a Tripadvisor Choice Award for the best regional airline.

The airline mostly flies Embraer and ATR aircraft on short haul routes. You can also find the Airbus A320-neo there. For long haul destinations the Airbus A330 is deployed.

Interestingly, Skytrax only gives three stars to the Brazilian carrier. On its website the renowned reviewer writes that passengers can expect better service than on low cost carriers. But Azul’s service offer is not on par with that of full service airlines (yet).

Source: InsideFlyer The Netherlands