Skytrax Best Airlines for 2018

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fountainhall

Skytrax Best Airlines for 2018

Post by fountainhall »

The extensive Skytrax poll has revealed its 2018 Top Ten -

1. Singapore Airlines
2. Qatar Airways
3. ANA All Nippon Airways
4. Emirates
5. EVA Air
6. Cathay Pacific
7. Lufthansa
8. Hainan Airlines
9. Garuda Indonesia
10. Thai Airways

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/ ... index.html

The 2017 Top Ten was -

1. Qatar Airways
2. Singapore Airlines
3. ANA All Nippon Airways
4. Emirates
5. Cathay Pacific
6. EVA Air
7. Lufthansa
8. Etihad Airways
9. Hainan Airlines
10. Garuda Indonesia
firecat69

Re: Skytrax Best Airlines for 2018

Post by firecat69 »

Once again I have to say I consider this poll useless.

First of all rating for Economy is beyond a joke. Seats and food sucks on all of them . Although I have had no personal experience the last 10 years in Economy on International flights since all of my travel has been in Business. I have numerous friends that fly in economy on International flights and they have nothing good to say about any of them.

Now as for Business Class, I recognize that many customers base their ratings in large part on the quality of wine. I don't drink on long International Flights so I don't comment. I am also pretty simple when it comes to food served . I want to be able to eat when I want it and it should be served quickly between courses and I just want it to be tasty. I pretty much feel that all of my favorite restaurants serve better food then I have ever had on an airplane.

So what is important in Business is personal space , storage space , seat adjustments and relative comfort of seat. I recognize to some the movies etc offered are important , I prefer to watch what I want on my Mac Book.

I have made 6 flights on Qatar and find nothing special about them and in fact on the same airplane B787, I found Lot ( Polish) Air far superior in all respects important to me. Now I did not have a chance to fly on the A380 and possibly I would have thought more of them but I doubt it. My flights were on B707 and the aforementioned B787.

I have flown ANA quite a few times and again see nothing special about them. In fact I find Deltas Business International product far superior to them.

I do like EVA Air and for what is important me far superior to ANA plus I don't have to go through Narita which is a bonus.

Been 3 years since I have been on Thai and based on other reports I am surprised they made the list .

I was lucky enough once to fly Singapore in First and of course if memory serves it was a memorable flight.

The rest in the list I have no personal experience with although I do have friends who had the misfortune to fly long legs in Economy on Lufthansa and they had nothing good to say about the airline.
fountainhall

Re: Skytrax Best Airlines for 2018

Post by fountainhall »

To qualify for the "best" accolade. Skytrax takes into account almost 2 million votes and a large variety of variables covering all four classes (three for airlines without premium economy) and ground services including lounges. So the fact that SIN comes top overall does not mean that covers all classes.

Other categories have been announced. The Best Business Class list is -

1. Qatar Airways
2. Singapore Airlines
3. ANA All Nippon Airways
4. Emirates
5. Etihad Airways
6. Qantas Airways
7. Cathay Pacific Airways
8. Lufthansa
9. Turkish Airlines
10. EVA Air

And Best Economy Class -

1. Thai Airways
2. Singapore Airlines
3; Qatar Airways
4. Emirates
5. ANA All Nippon Airways
6. Cathay Pacific Airways
7. Garuda Indonesia
8. EVA Air
9. Lufthansa
10. Japan Airlines

Understandably we will all have our favourites depending on our own experiences. Like firecat69, apart from one trans-Atlantic return 3 years ago, it is more than 35 years since I did any long haul in economy class, He does not like Qatar's business class. I happen to like its 787s and 777s but strangely not its A380s. I do want to eat and have a drink or two and I especially like Qatar's cuisine and wine which I suspect are as good as first class on many airlines. We are all different in our tastes and desires. On the other hand, I find the Emirates A380 business class cabin considerably superior. Decades ago Cathay Pacific offered stunning wines in business class. Then these were moved up into first class - and now they rarely appear even there, I'm told.

I do fly economy short haul in Europe and in Asia. Once a great airline, British Airways on both long and short haul is now the worst of the worst. I'll always opt for Easyjet. In Asia CX has a good economy class product if you can get a decent fare. I've also found Cathay Dragon (formerly Dragonair), China Airlines, Tiger Air and Hong Kong Airlines to have perfectly acceptable economy service.
firecat69

Re: Skytrax Best Airlines for 2018

Post by firecat69 »

My biggest question I guess, is that flying millions of miles on many different airlines in all classes over a 50 year period, I have never been asked to fill out that poll. Food for thought!
fountainhall

Re: Skytrax Best Airlines for 2018

Post by fountainhall »

An interesting question. We are told that somewhere in the region of 14 million passengers complete the surveys. Although they have been published for 20 years, like firecat69, after around 2.5 million kms flying over the last 20 years, I have never seen a survey form, never been asked my views by a pollster at an airport, never seen a form in a travel magazine etc. So I also wonder who makes up those 14 million and where are they based? It does seem that the results are skewed in favour of Asian and Middle Eastern carriers.

All I can see on the Skytrax site is this -
The 2018 Awards are based on 13.73 million airport survey questionnaires completed by over 100 different nationalities of airline customers during the survey period. The survey operated from August 2017 to February 2018, covering 550 airports worldwide and evaluating traveller experiences across different airport service and product key performance indicators - from check-in, arrivals, transfers, shopping, security and immigration through to departure at the gate.
The Top Ten Airports have been announced -

1. Singapore Changi
2. Seoul Incheon
3. Tokyo Haneda
4. Hong Kong
5. Doha Hamad
6. Munich
7. Centrair Nagoya
8. London Heathrow
9. Zurich
10. Frankfurt

I have not recently been in Nagoya, Zurich or Frankfurt. As for the others, I'd agree with their positions - with the exception of Heathrow. Having been through Terminal 4 and then later Terminal 5 so many times, I cannot see how that airport can possibly qualify.
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Re: Skytrax Best Airlines for 2018

Post by Gaybutton »

Personally, I would have much more interest in what board members here have to say.

What's your favorite airline and why?

What's your least favorite airline and why?

What's your favorite airport and why?

What's your least favorite airport and why?
firecat69

Re: Skytrax Best Airlines for 2018

Post by firecat69 »

fountainhall wrote:I have not recently been in Nagoya, Zurich or Frankfurt. As for the others, I'd agree with their positions - with the exception of Heathrow. Having been through Terminal 4 and then later Terminal 5 so many times, I cannot see how that airport can possibly qualify.
I agree Heathrow is a disaster. Been quite a few years since I have been in Singapore but I remember I thought that airport was as good as it gets. I don't like Frankfurt and you really need a golf cart to get around Doha. For as big as it is my hometown airport of Atlanta is quite good.

Truth is the smaller and the easier to get around the better I like so therefore I hate LAX,JFK,DFW. Denver is quite good.
fountainhall

Re: Skytrax Best Airlines for 2018

Post by fountainhall »

Gaybutton wrote:Personally, I would have much more interest in what board members here have to say.
This is a hard one if only because my own preferences differ depending on long-haul v. short-haul and biz class v. economy class. But here goes –

Short-Haul - Economy
Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Airlines, China Airlines, Cathay Dragon
Pros:
Good service; pre-seat selection; 20 kg bag included; meal service (although sometimes just a snack); if going via Hong Kong I have access to special HKG ID card holder Immigration gates – takes just 12 seconds and rarely any queue.
Cons:
must book well in advance for CX or too expensive; apart from China Airlines, transit required in HKG (but can be as little as 55 minutes).

Short-Haul - Business
Emirates
Pros:
virtually my only short-haul route in biz is to HKG and the EK daily flight is timed perfectly for me; far cheaper than TG or CX; superb food and drink in the lounges; love the individual cabin-type seating; flat beds; huge vdo screen and massive entertainment programme (best in the air); love the lounge bar in the back with premium liqueurs and lovely canapés.
Cons:
Arrival back in BKK is around 23:45 and frequently there is no A380 gate available so have to wait on the tarmac.

Long-Haul - Economy
No recommendation. Last was Berlin to Chicago on BA via LHR 3 years ago. Perfectly ghastly experience - dreadful airline.

Long-Haul - Business
Qatar - but would like to try Emirates next time!
Pros:
Several daily departures to choose from, most are 787s or 777s; flat beds; usually excellent meals served as and when you wish, even better wines with 3 red / 3 white and a dessert wine; very good on-board service; quick transits at Doha; huge lounge at Doha with several restaurants and coffee bars
Cons:
as of last year, still no dedicated lounge at BKK and the TG lounges are 3rd rate; there are still a few A330s and A340s with the old angle-flat seating; although I generally love the A380, I’m not crazy about their herring-bone arrangement; not many movies on the vdo entertainment; I’d still prefer non-stop to Europe but Qatar usually beats them all for price and value.

Note: since I am usually flying west with Europe as the first or only stop, I used to take BA. But one trip on the 777s from BKK which are in desperate need of refurbishment was enough; so I would go first to HKG and change on to their daily A380. There are two rear-facing window seats A and K in the last row of the first cabin upstairs which I like and are more private. But BA’s in-flight service and catering went badly downhill some years ago – hence now preferring a Gulf carrier).
firecat69

Re: Skytrax Best Airlines for 2018

Post by firecat69 »

I forgot to mention as a departure point heading to Asia from the USA, I just love Seattle. Not too large and good transportation system, short walks to gates. Short flying time to first destination on way to BKK. Great circle route. Like Dublin because US customs is there and thus out the door when you arrive in the USA. I am not a fan of Amsterdam (Schiphol) even as I love the city. Just too big same way I feel about Frankfurt. Like Cape Town as they keep modernizing it.

Most other airports don't register positive or negative with me.
fountainhall

Re: Skytrax Best Airlines for 2018

Post by fountainhall »

Least Favourite Airline - If I don't like one the first time I take it, that's it! I don't take it again.
Favourite Airport - Singapore's Changi is hard to beat and the new Terminal 4 is said to be stunning. It's also so easy to get to and from the city.
Least Favourite Airport - quite a few! I have never been a fan of BKK but it's better than some. Hate JFK's International Terminal. But by far the worst was Kathmandu's Domestic Terminal. Check in is a barn - literally - with loads of animals. Security almost non-existent. TV monitors all broken and all flights announced verbally, yet impossible to hear in the din. My flight was delayed 4 hours. Smelled like a clogged toilet. Never again!
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