What is the world’s best airline?

The world’s best airline is a very controversial matter between my “traveling acquaintances”, most likely because we never come up with a definite answer. Every airline’s purported merits are generally hampered in some way by the lack of real evidence.

According to Skytrax’s figures, the Airline of the Year Award 2007 goes to Singapore Airlines, followed by Thai Airways and Cathay Pacific.

Skytrax, a company which brands itself with the rather intricate title of “Inflight Research Services”, has the answer, and shockingly have had the answer since 2001, if my word is anything to go by. For the record, it is only the airlines offering long-haul flights that seem to win any awards.

So how are intercontinental airlines rated to any level of detail?

Well, there’s the “Inflight entertainment”, which (on cheap, stingy carriers which shall not be mentioned here… you know who you are) either involves an in-seat radio and some old movie projected murkily onto a large white cloth, or, the proper, new fangled personal entertainment technology, which is known in my family as “those little screens on the back of the seats”. Hasn’t someone invented a proper casual term for these things yet?

More importantly, there’s also the food. I wonder if it’s just me, but all airline food seems to be the same these days. Is it all just made in the same place? The strange phenomenon of every airline giving you a tiny little dish of food which is far too hot to eat and tastes of very little still occurs every time I travel. (Or maybe that’s because I’m cheap and always fly economy.)

Another factor to consider is the hospitality. I’m imagining the airline is rated also on the manner of the stewards and stewardesses. Do they smile? Are they attractive? Do they walk the isles grimacing and denying parched passengers glasses of water or orange juice? Do they talk about particularly irksome passengers behind their/our back? And did the passengers feel like they were being herded off and on like cattle?

My overall conclusion on whether there can be a clear, defined award for No.1 best airline is that there is no such one, as there are simply too many variables to be judged.

For example, suppose one of the Steward or Stewardesses on that flight happened to just be a having a bad day, or has a low resistance to Jet Lag and seems impolite and irritated by passengers constantly asking for drinks.

Suppose that the “personal entertainment system” happened to have had Coke spilt on it from a previous occupant and doesn’t work as a result, or suppose, due to turbulence, coffee is spilt all over one of the “Judges”.

Also, it can’t be a coincidence that the top Airports results seem to coincide with the top Airlines results. Having a harrowing Airport experience affects many people’s frame of mind.

For me, one of the most vital factors for rating an airline is how the cabin crew makes the Economy Class Passengers feel. The humiliation complex kicks in every time I board the plane. As Margaret Thatcher once said: “A man who, beyond the age of 26, finds himself on a bus can count himself as a failure”. Taken in context, this could also, I suppose, be applied to Economy Class passengers. It’s an almost unbelievably snobbish and most “upper crust” statement to possibly make, whether it was a joke or otherwise. But even taken in jest, I can’t help feeling there might be an ounce of truth in it after all.

Take care and enjoy your travels!

Topic:  General | 3 Comments
Tags:  airports, transportation

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About the author

Paul Crompton is an avid reader and has a passion for cars and technology, primarily. He loves traveling to whichever exotic travel location which is cheap. His dream is to become an advertising executive.