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Qatar Airways Voted World’s Best Airline With Unmatched Safety

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Qatar Airways, the flag carrier of Qatar headquartered in Doha, has been voted the world’s best airline, thanks in no small part to its efforts towards putting on safe, clean flights for its passengers at the height of the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Safety First Efforts of Qatar Airways Sees Them Voted World’s Best

The accolade, assessed by judges working on the behalf of AirlineRatings.com, is just one of many such awards in Qatar Airway’s trophy cabinet, having won several awards throughout the past decade, leading the airline to become synonymous with class, luxury and great service. Here’s more information about how they achieved the top spot, plus a look at the rest of the top 20 list.

Airline of the Year – What Travelers Should Know

The accolade of Airline of the Year was provided by AirlineRatings.com, a much-respected website dedicated to rating airlines from around the world across a selection of rigorous standards. The judging was carried out by the editorial team, which possess more than 100 years of experience in the industry. The team sought to combine key safety criteria – such as incident reports and government audits – with other more typical criteria, such as fleet age, passenger reviews, investment rating, product offerings, and staff relations.

qatar airplane

Speaking about the selection process, AirlineRatings.com Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Thomas said that they were “focused on leadership and airlines that innovate to make a real difference to the passenger experience,” and that they “also consider the audited feedback from passengers on our website.” The end result saw Qatar Airways reach the top of the pile, unseating former winners Air New Zealand in the process who were resigned to coming in second place.

qatar boarding

Qatar Airways Out On Top – Information For Passengers

Qatar Airways’ commitment to not only adapting to the pandemic, but setting examples for other airlines to follow, undoubtedly played a huge role in the airline scooping the top award last week. Speaking about the winners, AirlineRatings.com founder and Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Thomas said:

“Airline Ratings Excellence Awards are aptly named, for, at every touchpoint, excellence is the goal at Qatar Airways led by its inspirational Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker. Mr. Al Baker’s drive for perfection has led to many improvements in both Airbus and Boeing aircraft and travelers across the world are better off because of the passion and the pursuit of excellence of Qatar Airways.”

qatar airplane in flight

Not only were Qatar Airways one of the first countries to adopt a travel pass to promote safe travel, but they were also voted one of the safest and most Covid-compliant airlines in the world. The airline not only offers contactless entertainment systems, but it also made headlines when it became the first airline to fly with a fully vaccinated crew, ensuring passenger safety even at 40,000 feet. Despite the global crisis, Qatar still continued to serve many different destinations, whilst also taking the opportunity to expand its US offerings.

Upon receiving the award, Qatar’s group chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, said:

“On behalf of all of us at Qatar Airways, thank you for this distinguished recognition as Airline of the Year for 2021. Over the past 16 months, we have witnessed some of the darkest days ever seen by the aviation industry. Yet, when so many other airlines stopped flying, Qatar Airways continued to operate and stand by our passengers. Despite the health crisis, we continued to reach new heights and set industry standards that deliver a passenger experience unmatched by any other airline in the world. So, it goes without saying that receiving Airline Ratings’ Airline of the Year award for 2021 is an honor that all of us at Qatar Airways will treasure as we find ourselves emerging from the global health crisis and progressing forward to new horizons and clearer skies ahead.”

Qatar Airways Top Airline 2019

The top 20 airlines were voted as follows:

  1. Qatar Airways
  2. Air New Zealand
  3. Singapore Airlines
  4. Qantas
  5. Emirates
  6. Cathay Pacific
  7. Virgin Atlantic
  8. United Airlines
  9. EVA Air
  10. British Airways
  11. Lufthansa
  12. ANA
  13. Finnair
  14. Japan Air Lines
  15. KLM
  16. Hawaiian Airlines
  17. Alaska Airlines
  18. Virgin Australia
  19. Delta Air Lines
  20. Etihad Airways

READ MORE:

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This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com

Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.


Caren Listopadzki

Wednesday 28th of July 2021

Although Qatar Airlines does a lot to keep its staff safe (gloves, googles, aprons, vaccinations), they don’t do so much for their passenger: when I flew from Doha to Durban via Maputo in February 2021, passengers left the plane. Their seats received new blankets and the pillows received new pillow cases, but no surfaces were cleaned with disinfectant. I thought that was part of routine cleaning, thus I was very shocked that it was not even done during the pandemic! There was also no social distancing on the plane: it was filled to about 98% capacity.