Skytrax Top 10 airlines list doesn’t take off with some
To nobody’s surprise, Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong came in as the No. 1 “airline of the year” on the latest Skytrax ratings of the world’s major airlines. This survey, which Skytrax modestly claims to be “a most respected global airline passenger study,” always generates a lot of ink and pixels, along with some controversy, but you can hardly escape it. And if you judge on the basis of the awards for North America, you may rethink your trust in the results.
The usual suspects. In common with most other airline surveys, the Skytrax Top 10 award list includes several Asian lines: Cathay Pacific (1), Singapore (3), ANA (6), Garuda (7) and Asiana (8). Three airlines based in the Middle East made the list: Qatar (2), Emirates (4) and Etihad (9). Turkish Airlines (5) and Lufthansa (10) rounded out the Top 10. Emirates’ high rating is a bit of a surprise in that, earlier, Skytrax announced that no airline with extra-tight 10-across seating in 777s could earn the highest five-star rating.
Best in North America. Most readers of this column are more likely to fly U.S. and Canadian lines than they are to fly any of the Top 10. And here, the Skytrax scores are, to put it kindly, puzzling. The ranking, from top to bottom, goes this way: Air Canada, WestJet, Virgin America, Delta, United, Porter, JetBlue, Alaska, Southwest and American Eagle. I’ll concede high marks to Air Canada, Virgin America, and Porter. But Delta and United better than JetBlue, Alaska or Southwest? Feh! Industry mavens continue to wring their hands about “why can’t United fix its problems,” and Delta’s stinginess with frequent-flier seats should put it near the bottom of a typical U.S. traveler’s list. Other surveys repeatedly rank JetBlue, Alaska and Southwest, along with Hawaiian, well above United and Delta. And American Eagle perennially ranks near the bottom of the Airline Quality Scores based on Department of Transportation statistics.
Some smaller North American lines are included with the giant lines; others earning Top 10 scores as regional lines are Alaska, Silver, Go! (which recently folded), Frontier, Sun Country and Allegiant. Still no Hawaiian? And Porter, a much smaller line, is in the overall Top 10, but Alaska is only a regional?
Best in back. As I’ve noted before, Skytrax scores seem to be heavily biased toward ratings derived from business-class travelers. I’m pretty sure that most readers are more concerned with how well travelers in the “main cabin” fare. Skytrax says the Top 10 in lines for economy class are Asiana, Garuda, Turkish, Qatar, Cathay Pacific, Singapore, EVA, Oman, Emirates and Thai — still mostly Asian. The 777 is becoming a new standard long-haul international aircraft, and among these Top 10 airlines, Asiana, Cathay Pacific, EVA, Garuda, Qatar, Singapore, Thai and Turkish use the preferred nine-across seating, Oman doesn’t fly the 777, and only Emirates uses the unfortunate 10-across configuration. But Emirates is clearly indifferent to creature comfort in the rear cabin: Its managers are openly discussing going to 11-across economy seating on the lower deck of its A380s.
Best premium economy. The Top 10 lines for premium economy services are a bit more believable: Air New Zealand, Qantas, Turkish, ANA, JAL, Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Air France, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia. Don’t be surprised at the lack of North American entrants here: Of them, only Air Canada offers a premium economy option, and it’s too new to be included. The main surprise in this list is why OpenSkies, the British Airways subsidiary, didn’t score with what looks like an excellent product.
The food. Ratings for the best economy-class meals pretty much duplicated the overall economy ratings, with some order shuffling. The only non-Asian, non-Pacific lines to crack the Top 10 for business-class meals are Austrian, at No. 5 — love that wienerschnitzel — and South African, at No. 10.
The take-away. All in all, Skytrax doesn’t distinguish itself with the latest rankings: Results from North America raise their overall validity into sharp question. Still, they’re out there; use them as you think best. For more details, visit worldairlineawards.com/ awards_2014.