Customers Just Voted This Airline the World’s Best

The highest-ranking US airline was JetBlue, in ... 40th place

Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways took home the best airline award for the fifth time (Photo: Courtesy of Skytrax)

If you hate flying, it might be because you’re flying domestic. Head out into the wider world, and there are at least 39 airlines that are doing something better than what we’re getting here in the U.S. — starting with Qatar Airways, which just took home the World’s Best Airline at the World Airlines Awards 2019.

Those results come courtesy of Skytrax, which started the World Airlines Awards in 1999. No airline shenanigans here: the awards are independently run and winners are chosen via customer votes (21.65 million of ‘em globally, spanning 100 nationalities) in an annual survey that this cycle was conducted from September 2018 through May 2019.  

The key findings:

  • Qatar Airways came out on top, the fifth time it’s achieved that honor. Singapore Airlines, number one last year, ranked second this year.
  • The best American airline was JetBlue, which finished in a paltry 40th place. Expanding our range to North American airlines, Air Canada finished 31st.
  • Not technically the lowest-ranked (there are more airlines than the ones that made the published list), but Icelandair came in 100th.

More fun can be found in the secondary awards: Singapore Airlines won Best Cabin Crew, Philippine Airlines was most improved and Emirates won Best In-flight Entertainment. And, if you need a moment of USA pride, United Airlines did take home the “World’s Best Business Class Lounge.”

Editor’s Note: RealClearLife, a news and lifestyle publisher, is now a part of InsideHook. Together, we’ll be covering current events, pop culture, sports, travel, health and, the world. Subscribe here for our free daily newsletter.

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