Skytrax

Skytrax (originally known as Inflight Research Services) is a United Kingdom-based consultancy which runs an airline and airport review and ranking site.[1] In 2012, the online investigations company KwikChex filed five complaints with the UK Advertising Standards Authority. The authority upheld all five complaints and Skytrax agreed to modify some promotional wording.[2][3] Questions have also been raised about Skytrax's objectivity and methodology.

Former Skytrax logo

Services

Skytrax conducts research for commercial airlines, as well as taking surveys from international travelers to rate cabin staff, airports, airlines, airline lounges, in-flight entertainment, on-board catering, and several other elements of air travel.[4][5] Apart from these evaluations, Skytrax has an airline forum where passengers give potential passengers insights and opinions about an airline. The website also hosts flight reviews, flight checks, and satisfaction surveys. Skytrax holds an annual World Airline Awards[6] and World Airport Awards,[7] as well as the ranking for airlines and airports.

Doubts about objectivity

Skytrax claims on its website that it has no economic ties to the airlines and airports that are presented with Skytrax awards, which it says are based on votes by passengers. In fact any person may vote, one vote per IP address.[8] Skytrax provides remunerated consulting services to airlines and airports, and there are doubts as to whether this arrangement allows Skytrax to be objective in the awards that it issues, to wit:

In 2011, Skytrax's award of a 5-star rating to Hainan Airlines subsequent to a consulting project that it completed for the airline raised doubts about the objectivity of the award.[9]

In 2012, the online investigations company KwikChex filed five complaints with the UK Advertising Standards Authority related to statements on the Skytrax web site describing the volume and reliability of their reviews as well as the official status and update frequency of their ratings. The ASA ruled that there was no evidence that Skytrax had followed the robust procedures it claimed it had in place to check all reviews were genuine. Although Skytrax argued that every review underwent a four-stage authentication process, it said it was unable to provide proof it had followed its own procedures as customer emails were deleted 24 hours after a review was submitted.[10] The authority upheld all five complaints and Skytrax agreed to modify some promotional wording.[2][3]

In 2014, Etihad stopped participating in Skytrax ratings.[11]

In 2015, news company Skift concluded that Skytrax had "wildly inflated" the number of persons participating in its annual survey.[12] Skift reported:[13]

The principal partner appears to be Skytrax’s founder Edward Plaisted, whose background in aviation, or outside of aviation, is unknown. Skift has tried on more than one occasion to get insights from the Skytrax on its methodology, metrics, and business organization with no success. Questions answered by its press representative were later claimed to be off the record, and statements given for previous stories were asked to be retracted.

Skytrax's 2019 downgrading of Turkish Airlines to a three-star carrier, subsequent to its 2018 pulling out of Skytrax, elicited much criticism and accusations of dishonesty in the awards and doubts as to whether Skytrax actually uses the methodology that it states that it uses.[14] Similar criticism arose when Skytrax awarded Lufthansa an award for a future cabin interior in 2019, subsequent to a consulting project that it had completed for the airline.[15]

Awards

Skytrax presents awards annually to airports and airlines that it considers noteworthy in their performance.

Airline of the year
Year1st2nd3rd
2001[16] Emirates Singapore Airlines Cathay Pacific
2002[16] Emirates Cathay Pacific Singapore Airlines
2003[17] Cathay Pacific[18] Emirates Singapore Airlines
2004[18] Singapore Airlines Emirates Cathay Pacific
2005[19] Cathay Pacific Qantas Emirates
2006[16] British Airways Qantas Cathay Pacific
2007[20] Singapore Airlines Thai Airways Cathay Pacific
2008[21] Singapore Airlines Cathay Pacific Qantas
2009[22] Cathay Pacific Singapore Airlines Asiana Airlines
2010[23] Asiana Airlines Singapore Airlines Qatar Airways
2011[24] Qatar Airways Singapore Airlines Asiana Airlines
2012[25] Qatar Airways Asiana Airlines Singapore Airlines
2013[26] Emirates Qatar Airways Singapore Airlines
2014[27] Cathay Pacific Qatar Airways Singapore Airlines
2015[28] Qatar Airways Singapore Airlines Cathay Pacific
2016[29] Emirates Qatar Airways Singapore Airlines
2017[30] Qatar Airways Singapore Airlines All Nippon Airways
2018[31] Singapore Airlines Qatar Airways All Nippon Airways
2019[32] Qatar Airways Singapore Airlines All Nippon Airways

Airport of the year
Year1st2nd3rd
1999 Amsterdam Airport Schiphol[33]NoneNone
2000 Singapore Changi Airport[33]NoneNone
2001[34] Hong Kong International Airport Kuala Lumpur International Airport Singapore Changi Airport
2002[35] Hong Kong International Airport Singapore Changi Airport Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport
2003[36] Hong Kong International Airport[33] Singapore Changi Airport Dubai International Airport
2004[37] Hong Kong International Airport Singapore Changi Airport Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
2005[38] Hong Kong International Airport Singapore Changi Airport Incheon International Airport
2006[39] Singapore Changi Airport[33] Hong Kong International Airport Munich Airport
2007[40] Hong Kong International Airport Incheon International Airport Singapore Changi Airport
2008[41] Hong Kong International Airport Singapore Changi Airport Incheon International Airport
2009[42] Incheon International Airport Hong Kong International Airport Singapore Changi Airport
2010[43] Singapore Changi Airport Incheon International Airport Hong Kong International Airport
2011[44] Hong Kong International Airport Singapore Changi Airport Incheon International Airport
2012[45] Incheon International Airport Singapore Changi Airport Hong Kong International Airport
2013[46] Singapore Changi Airport Incheon International Airport Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
2014[47] Singapore Changi Airport Incheon International Airport Munich Airport
2015[48] Singapore Changi Airport Incheon International Airport Munich Airport
2016[49] Singapore Changi Airport Incheon International Airport Munich Airport
2017[50] Singapore Changi Airport Tokyo International Airport Incheon International Airport
2018[51] Singapore Changi Airport Incheon International Airport Tokyo International Airport
2019[52] Singapore Changi Airport Tokyo International Airport Incheon International Airport
2020[53] Singapore Changi Airport Tokyo International Airport Hamad International Airport

Airline rankings

The World's 5-Star Airlines

Skytrax currently certifies only its top-10-rated airlines with 5 stars.

Sources:[54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61]

AirlineAlliancePeriod
All Nippon Airways Star Alliance 2013–present
Asiana Airlines Star Alliance 2007–present
Cathay Pacific Oneworld 2001–2002, 2004, 2006–present
EVA Air Star Alliance 2016–present
Garuda Indonesia SkyTeam 2014–present
Hainan Airlines none 2010–present
Japan Airlines Oneworld 2018–present
Korean Air SkyTeam 2020–present
Lufthansa Star Alliance 2017–present
Qatar Airways Oneworld 2006–present
Singapore Airlines Star Alliance 2001–2002, 2004, 2006–present

Former 5-Star airlines
Airline Alliance Period
Ansett Australia Star Alliance 2001–2002
British Airways Oneworld 2001
Emirates none 2001
Etihad Airways none 2016–2019
Kingfisher Airlines none 2008–2010
Malaysia Airlines Oneworld 2001, 2005–2013

Airline with the Best Airport Services
Year1st2nd3rd
2013[62] All Nippon Airways Asiana Airlines Korean Air
2014[62] All Nippon Airways EVA Air Thai Airways
2015[62] All Nippon Airways EVA Air Garuda Indonesia
2016[62] All Nippon Airways EVA Air Thai Airways
2017[62] All Nippon Airways EVA Air Thai Airways
2018[62] EVA Air All Nippon Airways Cathay Pacific

Best Inflight Entertainment
Year1st2nd3rd
2013[62] Emirates Singapore Airlines Cathay Pacific
2014[62] Emirates Singapore Airlines Turkish Airlines
2015[62] Emirates Qatar Airways Singapore Airlines
2016[62] Emirates Singapore Airlines Qatar Airways
2017[62] Emirates Qatar Airways Singapore Airlines
2018[62] Emirates Singapore Airlines Qatar Airways
2019[62] Emirates Qatar Airways Singapore Airlines

Best Aircraft Cabin Cleanliness
Year1st2nd3rd
2013[62] All Nippon Airways Asiana Airlines Korean Air
2014[62] Asiana Airlines All Nippon Airways Singapore Airlines
2015[62] EVA Air Singapore Airlines All Nippon Airways
2016[62] Cathay Pacific EVA Air All Nippon Airways
2017[62] EVA Air All Nippon Airways Japan Airlines
2018[62] All Nippon Airways EVA Air Asiana Airlines
2019[62] EVA Air Japan Airlines All Nippon Airways
2020[62] Singapore Airlines Asiana Airlines All Nippon Airways

World's Best Regional Airlines (Short haul flight)
Year1st2nd3rd
2013[62] Cathay Dragon (formerly Dragonair) Aegean Airlines Bangkok Airways
2014[62] Bangkok Airways Cathay Dragon (formerly Dragonair) Aegean Airlines
2015[62] Cathay Dragon (formerly Dragonair) Bangkok Airways Aegean Airlines
2016[62] Bangkok Airways Cathay Dragon (formerly Dragonair) Hong Kong Airlines
2017[16] Bangkok Airways Hong Kong Airlines Cathay Dragon (formerly Dragonair)
2018[63] Bangkok Airways Cathay Dragon (formerly Dragonair) Alaska Airlines
2019[16] Bangkok Airways Cathay Dragon (formerly Dragonair) jetBlue Airways

World's Best Airline Alliance
Year1st2nd3rd
2013[62]OneworldStar AllianceSkyTeam
2014[62]OneworldStar AllianceSkyTeam
2015[62]OneworldStar AllianceSkyTeam
2016[62]Star AllianceOneworldSkyTeam
2017[64] Star Alliance Oneworld SkyTeam
2018[65] Star Alliance Oneworld SkyTeam

Airport rankings

World's Best Airports
Rank
(2020)[66]		 Airport Rank
(2019)[67]		 Rank
(2018)
1 Singapore Changi Airport 1 1
2 Haneda International Airport 2 3
3 Hamad International Airport 4 5
4 Incheon International Airport 3 2
5 Munich Airport 7 6
6 Hong Kong International Airport 5 4
7 Narita International Airport 9 11
8 Chubu Centrair International Airport 6 7
9 Amsterdam Schiphol Airport 14 12
10 Kansai International Airport 11 13

World's Cleanest Airports
Rank
(2020)[68]		 Airport Rank
(2019)[69]
1 Haneda International Airport 1
2 Incheon International Airport 4
3 Singapore Changi Airport 3
4 Narita International Airport 5
5 Hamad International Airport 6
6 Chubu Centrair International Airport 2
7 Hong Kong International Airport 7
8 Zurich Airport 10
9 Kansai International Airport 9
10 Munich Airport N/A

SkyTrax added anti-COVID-19 awards for airports in 2020.[70][71]

World's Best Airport Terminals
Rank
(2020)[72]		 Airport terminal Rank
(2019)[73]
1 Incheon International Airport – T2 N/A
2 Singapore Changi Airport – T3 2
3 Heathrow Airport – T2 4
4 Paris Charles de Gaulle – T2M N/A
5 Heathrow Airport – T5 1
6 Munich Airport – T2 3
7 Singapore Changi Airport – T4 6
8 Haneda International Airport – International Terminal 7
9 Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport – T2 9
10 Madrid-Barajas Airport – T4 9

World's Best Transit Airports
Rank
(2020)[74]		 Airport Rank
(2019)[75]
1 Incheon International Airport 1
2 Singapore Changi Airport 2
3 Hamad International Airport 5
4 Haneda International Airport 4
5 Narita International Airport 7
6 Hong Kong International Airport 3
7 Amsterdam Schiphol Airport 10
8 Munich Airport 6
9 Zurich Airport 9
10 Frankfurt Airport 8

References
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  7. World Airport Awards
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  11. https://www.ausbt.com.au/etihad-airways-withdraws-from-skytrax Chris Chamberlin, "Etihad Airways withdraws from Skytrax", Australian Business Traveler, June 8, 2014]
  12. https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2018/02/16/inside-strange-world-skytrax-aviation-rating-organization-probably-shouldnt-trust/#.XR0NlS2ZPUI
  13. "Understanding the players during airline and airport awards season", Skift, March 2015
  14. "Outrageous: Turkish Airlines Downgraded To Skytrax 3-Star Airline", One Mile at a Time, May 11, 2019
  15. https://onemileatatime.com/turkish-airlines-skytrax/
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  23. Airline of the Year 2010 Archived 4 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  24. Airline of the Year 2011 Archived 26 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
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