World’s Top Airlines for 2026 Named — Kuwait Airways Left Out Again

19/09/2026

World’s Top Airlines for 2026 Named — Kuwait Airways Left Out Again

LONDON, Sept 19: Singapore Airlines has been named the world’s best airline for 2026, reclaiming the top position in the annual World Airline Awards announced by Skytrax at a gala ceremony in London on Friday.

Last year’s winner, Qatar Airways, moved to second place, followed by Cathay Pacific Airways in third. ANA All Nippon Airways ranked fourth, while Turkish Airlines completed the top five.

The awards, often described as the “Oscars of the aviation industry,” are based on a global passenger satisfaction survey conducted by Skytrax. The 2025-26 survey ran from September 2025 to August 2026 and included more than 300 airlines, with passengers from more than 100 nationalities participating.

World’s top 20 airlines in 2026

Singapore Airlines
Qatar Airways
Cathay Pacific
ANA All Nippon Airways
Turkish Airlines
Emirates
Air France
Hainan Airlines
Japan Airlines
Korean Air
EVA Air
Qantas Airways
STARLUX Airlines
Lufthansa
Saudi Arabian Airlines
Iberia
Air Canada
Virgin Atlantic
Swiss International Air Lines
Thai Airways

For top 100 listing, click here

Kuwait Airways again outside top 100

Kuwait Airways is once again absent from the World’s Top 100 Airlines, making it the only major Gulf carrier not featured in the rankings.

The Kuwait national carrier had received Skytrax’s Best Airline Progress award in 2023, but fell 50 places in 2024 — described as the largest decline by any airline over the previous five years. It subsequently dropped out of the top 100 in 2025 and remains absent from the rankings in 2026.

Kuwait Airways disputed its exclusion last year, describing the rankings as unfair and not reflective of the airline’s reality. The airline also warned against circulating reports about the rankings, citing potential legal accountability.

With a fleet of approximately 32 aircraft, Kuwait Airways is currently the smallest full-service Gulf carrier by fleet size, despite being established before many of the region’s major airlines.

World’s Best Cabin Crew 2026

Cathay Pacific Airways
Singapore Airlines
Malaysia Airlines
Hainan Airlines
ANA All Nippon Airways
EVA Air
STARLUX Airlines
Garuda Indonesia
Japan Airlines
Thai Airways

World’s Best Low-Cost Airlines 2026

AirAsia
Scoot
Vueling Airlines
Eurowings
Iberia Express
Volotea
Transavia
Flynas
IndiGo
Allegiant Air

World’s Best Regional Airlines 2026

Bangkok Airways
Porter Airlines
Virgin Australia
Aegean Airlines
Azerbaijan Airlines
Hong Kong Airlines
JetBlue Airways
Royal Air Maroc
RwandAir
Azul Brazilian Airlines

World’s Most Family-Friendly Airlines 2026

EVA Air
Emirates
Lufthansa
Cathay Pacific Airways
Singapore Airlines

World’s Cleanest Airlines 2026

STARLUX Airlines
Singapore Airlines
ANA All Nippon Airways
Hainan Airlines
Cathay Pacific Airways

World’s Best Leisure Airlines 2026

Air Transat
SunExpress
TUI Airways
Sun PhuQuoc Airways
Condor

World’s Best Airline Inflight Entertainment 2026

Emirates
Singapore Airlines
Cathay Pacific Airways
Qatar Airways
Virgin Atlantic

World’s Best Airport Services 2026

ANA All Nippon Airways
Malaysia Airlines
Japan Airlines
Singapore Airlines
Hainan Airlines

World’s Most Improved Airlines 2026

Egyptair
Air India
Royal Jordanian Airlines
American Airlines
Sun PhuQuoc Airways

World’s Best Independent Airport Lounges 2026

Chase Sapphire Lounge – LGA
Plaza Premium – FCO
Chase Sapphire Lounge – HKG
Plaza Premium – LHR T4
Capital One – JFK

World’s Best First Class Airlines 2026

Air France
Singapore Airlines
Lufthansa
Emirates
Cathay Pacific Airways

World’s Best Business Class Airlines 2026

Qatar Airways
Singapore Airlines
Cathay Pacific Airways
ANA All Nippon Airways
Hainan Airlines

World’s Best Premium Economy Class Airlines 2026

EVA Air
Emirates
Singapore Airlines
Cathay Pacific Airways
Virgin Atlantic

World’s Best Economy Class Airlines 2026

Singapore Airlines
Cathay Pacific Airways
Qatar Airways
EVA Air
ANA All Nippon Airways

The World Airline Awards are independent and impartial, introduced in 1999 to provide a customer satisfaction study that is truly global. Travellers across the world vote in the largest airline passenger satisfaction survey to determine the award winners. The awards are often referred to by media around the world as “the Oscars of the aviation industry”.

Skytrax pay all costs of the Survey and the Awards process, with no sponsorship. There is no survey entry or registration fee, and awards event is free to attend and there are no charges or royalty payments for use of the award logos and results.

The online survey operated from September 2025 to August 2026, and more than 100 customer nationalities participated. All survey entries were screened to identify IP and user information, with duplicate, suspect and ineligible entries deleted.

Over 300 airlines are featured in the 2025/2026 survey results. The customer survey was offered in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.