Wright brothers of India invented the Aeroplane. An air transportation system includes its equipment, routes, operating personnel, and management. An Airline is an organization providing a regular public service for passengers and goods of air transport on one or more routes. It is a system that provides scheduled flights for passengers or cargo. It is a company that owns and operates many airplanes. Airlines utilize aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in which they both offer and operate the same flight. Not all airlines are created equal. As in most businesses, there is a sort of stratification of airlines, at least within the United States. U.S. airlines are either publicly or privately owned – however, in many countries, the government owns the airlines.
The best international airlines in the world seem to pull off the nearly impossible: they not only connect travelers with some of the coolest destinations on the planet but also do it with the grace. We are looking for leadership and airlines that innovate to make a real difference to the passenger experience particularly in economy class.” “In our evaluation, we also consider the audited feedback from passengers on our website.” The largest airlines in the world can be defined in several ways. A full service airline typically offers passengers in flight entertainment, checked baggage, meals, beverages and comforts such as blankets and pillows in the ticket price.
As of 2019, American Airlines Group was the largest by fleet size, passengers carried and revenue passenger mile. Delta Air Lines was the largest by revenue, assets value and market capitalization. Lufthansa Group was the largest by number of employees, FedEx Express by freight tonne-kilometers, Turkish Airlines by number of countries served, Ryanair by number of routes and UPS Airlines by number of destinations served. To decide the rank of Airlines, a dozen key factors are included like operational safety, passenger reviews, profitability, investment rating, fleet age, and product offerings such as premium economy on long-haul flights and seating options in other classes.
1.Air New Zealand Airlines
The airline’s main hub is Auckland Airport, located near Mangere in the southern part of the Auckland urban area. Air New Zealand originated in 1940 as Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL), a company operating trans-Tasman flights between New Zealand and Australia. TEAL became wholly owned by the New Zealand Government in 1965, whereupon it was renamed Air New Zealand. The carrier has a fleet size of 104 and currently operates Airbus A320, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 aircraft. It doesn’t compromise in terms of safety and reliability, and assures a great travel experience on air. Air New Zealand seeks to offer economical air fares to travelers. The airline flies to all key destinations of Europe, Africa, North America, South America, the Caribbean and the Middle East, and their service quality is outstanding. It operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 32 international destinations in 20 countries primarily Australia, London, Los Angeles are some of the popular routes served by Air New Zealand. The airline has been a member of the Star Alliance since 1999. Air New Zealand was awarded Airline of the Year in 2010 and 2012 by the Air Transport World Global Airline Awards. In 2014, Air New Zealand was ranked the safest airline in the world by JACDEC. In March 1999, Air New Zealand became a member of the Star Alliance. From 1999 through 2000, Air New Zealand became embroiled in an ownership battle over Ansett with co-owner News Limited over a possible sale of the under-performing carrier to Singapore Airlines. For domestic flights Air New Zealand features four classes of seats: Seat, Seat + Bag, Flexi Time and Flexi Plus. For long haul fights there is Economy, Economy Skycouch, Premium Economy and Business Premiere.
You’ll find the best peaceful sleep in the sky
- Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines (SIA) is the flag carrier airline of Singapore with its hub at Singapore Changi Airport. Singapore Airlines (SIA) is founded in 1 May 1947 as Malayan Airways and it had started operations from 1 Oct 1972. The top international carrier is once again Singapore Airlines, which has won the No. 1 spot in each of the past 25 years. Singapore Airlines, which took 2nd position, is always at the forefront of airline awards and introduced its new A350 and 787-10 over the last 2 years, along with revamped A380s. Singapore Airlines was the launch customer for the Airbus A380 – the world’s largest passenger aircraft. Singapore Airlines operates an all wide-body passenger aircraft fleet from five aircraft families: Airbus A330, Airbus A350, Airbus A380, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787, totally 135 aircrafts as of 30 November 2020. Seven Boeing 747-400 cargo aircraft are also operated. It ranks amongst the top 15 carriers worldwide in terms of revenue passenger kilometers, and is ranked tenth in the world for international passengers carried. The airline also won the second and fourth positions as the World’s Best Airlines and World’s Cleanest Airlines respectively for 2019. Singapore Airlines flies to 137 destinations in 32 countries on five continents from its primary hub in Singapore. Singapore Airlines includes many airline-related subsidiaries. SIA Engineering Company handles maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) business across nine countries, with a portfolio of 27 joint ventures, including with Boeing and Rolls-Royce. Singapore Airlines Cargo operates SIA’s freighter fleet and manages the cargo-hold capacity in SIA’s passenger aircraft. It has two subsidiaries: SilkAir operates regional flights to secondary cities, while Scoot operates as a low-cost carrier.
3.All Nippon Airways(ANA)
In 3rd position is All Nippon Airways which continues its dominance of Japanese aviation. All Nippon Airways was founded in 27 December 1952 and is headquartered in Tokyo. It is the leading operators of the Boeing 787 and a launch customer for the 777X. The airline is at the forefront of cabin innovation. The hubs are Tokyo–Haneda Tokyo–Narita. Secondary hubs are Tokyo–Haneda Tokyo–Narita. All Nippon Airways also known as Zennikku is the largest airline in Japan by revenues and passenger numbers. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations. Far East Airlines merged with the newly named All Nippon Airways in March 1958. . In 2017, the airline received an award for the “World’s Best Airport Services”. In 1986 ANA expanded its international services gradually: to Beijing, Dalian, Hong Kong and Sydney in 1987; to Seoul in 1988; to London and Saipan in 1989; to Paris in 1990 and to New York and Singapore in 1991. Airbus equipment such as the A320 and A321 was added to the fleet in the early 1990s, as was the Boeing 747-400 jet. ANA joined the Star Alliance in October 1999. ANA has an extensive domestic route network that covers the entirety of Japan, from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south. ANA’s international route network extends through China, Korea, India, Southeast Asia, Canada, United States, Mexico, Australia, and Western Europe. It has grown to become one of the world’s top-class airline companies, with more than 42 million passengers annually. It is our goal to be the world’s leading airline group in customer satisfaction and value creation. ANA (All Nippon Airways) connects 49 Japanese cities with 113 routes, and 42 cities overseas with 87 routes.
- Qantas Airlines
Qantas took the fourth spot for its financial performance and Best Lounge and Best Domestic Service awards. It was founded as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service. QANTAS literally stands for “Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service”. Darwin to Singapore was the first Flight to Overseas, Qantas made it’s international debut on the Darwin – Singapore route in May 1935 on a De Havilland 86. In 2003 Qantas founded Jetstar Airways as an answer to the low-cost airline Virgin Blue (Now Virgin Australia) which entered the domestic market in 2000. The airline’s headquarters are in Sydney. Qantas is commonly known as the “Flying Kangaroo” because of its logo, which is identified as a white kangaroo on a red right-angle triangle. It is the second oldest continuously operating airline in the world. In June 1959, Qantas’ first jet airliner was delivered, which was a Boeing 707-138. Qantas has 18 domestic destinations within Australia and 23 international destinations in 15 countries. In 1934, QANTAS and Britain’s Imperial Airways formed Qantas Empire Airways Limited (QEA). Qantas Boeing 747-438 made the first record-breaking non-stop flight – London-Sydney non-stop flight, VH-OJA, City of Canberra, on March 24, 1989, the first commercial airline ever to cover more than 17,000 km. Most airlines on the list are squeaking by with domestic operations, despite all odds, Qatar Airways has continued operating to an impressive number of international destinations, with plans to serve 80 destinations globally this month, in June 2020. Its customer approval rating is at an all-time high. It is the third oldest airlines in the world.
- Cathay Pacific Airlines
Cathay Pacific Airways took 5th spot and is always in the winner’s circle. It has won numerous awards from Airlineratings.com including Best Business Class in 2013 and 2015 and Best Asia/Pacific Airline for 2016. Roy was an American citizen and served the CNAC during the war flying supplies to Burma. He named the airline Cathay Pacific. “Cathay” used to be the medieval name for China and Roy had the vision of flying over the Pacific Ocean one day, hence the name. No other airline in the world has been named “Airline of the Year” as often as the Hong Kong based carrier. The Skytrax awards have been given out since 2001 with Emirates being the first to win it. Cathay claimed the award in 2003, 2005, 2009 as well as 2014, more than any other airline in the world. The Airbus A350 is the most modern and latest passenger aircraft in service. Cathay placed an order of 46 A350-900 and -1000 to join the fleet in the next years with the aim to replace it’s A340’s. It’s currently operating on flights to Auckland, London and Dusseldorf. The “Queen of the Skies” is slowly fading from the skies due to the trend of operating, lighter and more efficient airplanes such as the 787 Dreamliner or the A350. In order to extend it’s network and to stay more competitive Cathay Pacific received its very first jet in 1964. The DC-3 is probably the Beetle of the aviation industry, it wouldn’t just stop working. You could fly on forever with this airplane, just as you could drive the VW Beetle for a lifetime.
- Emirates Airlines
In 6th spot is Emirates, which has just ordered 787-9s and A350s and announced it will introduce Premium Economy to its aircraft next year. Dubai Airport is 3rd busiest airport in the world. It is also the largest airline in the Middle East, operating over 3,600 flights per week from its hub at Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport, to more than 150 cities in 80 countries across six continents through its fleet of nearly 300 aircraft. Cargo activities are undertaken by Emirates SkyCargo. Emirates Airline is based in the heart of United Arab Emirates, Dubai. Nothing happens without a reason. Dubai is known as the ‘city of gold’ bathed in splendor, where wealth is so extreme that sometimes difficult to comprehend. Emirates Airlines aligns with that image pretty well. Emirates Airline also won in the best in-flight entertainment category. Dubai International Airport is the primary hub for the company. Emirates has a fleet size of 258 aircraft, one of the largest fleet sizes in the world. Emirates generates 36.5% of its revenue from Europe & Americas & spends 35.1% of its revenue on fuel. Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 3 was built exclusively for the use of Emirates at a cost of $4.5 billion and officially opened 14 October 2008. Emirates has made code-share agreement with Philippine Airlines, Qantas, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian Airlines, Silk Air, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, TAP Portugal, Thai Airways, Virgin America, Air Mauritius, Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific, Garuda Indonesia, JetBlue, Jetstar, Jetstar Asia, and Korean Air. Emirates is a state-owned company.
Emirates Airlines was first airlines in which showers are available under the plane. Only Emirates Super Jumbo, the Airbus A380 has a shower on board. Most of Emirates 777 come with a First Class. The Dubai based airline is due to welcome it’s 100th “Super Jumbo”. Emirates is the worlds 4th largest airline by scheduled revenue passenger-kilometres flown and operates the biggest Airbus A380 fleet in the world. 42 more 380’s are still on order and expected to join Emirates within the next few years making it 142 in total. The majority of the 20,000 cabin crew employed by Emirates come from the UK, no surprise by an average 20 flights between Dubai and the United Kingdom. Those are followed by Australian crew and Egyptians as well as Indian and Filipino Crew. Emirates was only founded in 1985. The airlines first flight took off on October 25 in 1985 on a Boeing 727, which was provided by the Royal Family to Karachi in Pakistan. Flight EK600 was a historic milestone and the birth of an airline which should 30 years later operate more than 3,600 flights a week to 140 cities in 80 countries around the world. In fact the Gulf carrier only uses 2 kinds of airplanes, the Airbus A380 as well as the Boeing 777. Emirates is the worlds largest operator of both airplane types. This makes 234 planes in total. The greatest thing of such an identical flight is that each of the 98,244 seats Emirates offers is identical. It’s is also the only airline in the world where every seat comes with a personal screen. In 17 hours you could comfortably fly from London to New York, have a Starbucks coffee in Manhattan and fly back to the UK or alternatively you could fly from Auckland, New Zealand to Dubai on the longest Airbus A380 flight in the world. The Dubai based carrier is extremely popular and the brand itself was valued at 7 Billion US-Dollars in 2016. But the airline was also awarded as Skytrax Airline of the year in 2001, 2002, 2013 and 2015. It is the biggest honor an airline can receive within industry. Emirates is the only major airline in the world which is not part of any alliance.
7.Virgin Atlantic Airlines
Moving into 7th spot is Virgin Atlantic which continues to innovate. A guy on a motorcycle used to pick up Virgin Atlantic customers and bring them to the airport. It might seem like a strange investment, but it’s well worth it for Delta, which now gets to fly its customers more frequently to London’s Heathrow Airport. Virgin Atlantic is a British Airline and considered to be of the more luxurious airlines in the world. It has been flying since 1984. The airline began operations on June 22nd, 1984 with the first flight between Gatwick and Newark with a leased Boeing 747-200 aircraft. On its vast network, it reaches out to major destinations in North America, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe and Asia. The airline was the first to introduce personal televisions to its business class passengers. The airline was ranked as the best airline in Europe. The airline in 2008 flew the first ever commercial flight in the world using biofuel. Subsequently, it made an order of 15 dreamliners which burn 27 percent less fuel than the A340. While British Airways operates all of its transatlantic long-haul flights from its bases at London’s Heathrow and Gatwick Airports, Virgin Atlantic has a secondary base in Manchester in Northern England, as well as operates numerous seasonal point-to-point routes from smaller cities throughout the Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in addition to its bases at both Heathrow and Gatwick. These point-to-point routes include Glasgow and Belfast to Orlando using the Boeing 747-400.
Steve Fossett singlehandedly flew around the world in a Virgin plane
In February 2005, the aviation pro and first man to fly around the earth in a balloon successfully circumnavigated the globe in Virgin Atlantic’s lightweight GlobalFlyer plane — the only aircraft to have made a 25,000-mile, round-the-world trip on a single tank of fuel. The personality and language of our brand plays a major role. Virgin Atlantic took to the skies 30 years ago and despite its rise in popularity. Virgin flew its customers’ cats and dogs from the US to London’s Heathrow Airport for the first time in 2003, and has since carried more than 15,000 animals on board.
- EVA Air Airlines
EVA Air is ranked in the top 3 ‘Most Loved Airlines’. EVA Air takes 8th spot, EVA Air has always been the leader in Taiwanese aviation and always at the forefront of cabin innovation such as premium economy in 1992. After receiving the 5-Star status, EVA Air was also voted to to be the third most loved airline in the world, ranked behind the Indonesian carrier Garuda and the South Korea-based airline Asiana. EVA Airways Corporation, of which “EVA” stands for Evergreen Airways, is a Taiwanese international airline based at Taoyuan International Airport near Taipei, Taiwan, operating passenger and dedicated cargo services to over 40 international destinations in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. EVA Air is largely privately owned and flies a fully international route network. It is the second largest Taiwanese airline. EVA Air is headquartered in Luzhu, Taoyuan City, Taiwan. The company slogan is “Sharing the World, Flying Together”. Its founding in 1989 as an affiliate of shipping conglomerate Evergreen Group. Its cargo arm, EVA Air Cargo, links with the Evergreen worldwide shipping network on sea and land. As of January 2018, EVA Air is the 15th safest airline in the world, with no hull losses, accidents, or fatalities since its establishment. EVA Air introduced their brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. On July 1st in 1991, the first commercial EVA Air flight took off from Taipei’s Taoyuan International airport. This was the beginning of a new era for the the first privately owned airline in Taiwan. In 1992, EVA Air introduced a “new” fourth class, these days commonly known as Premium Economy Class, to their 747 Jumbo fleet.
Wider seats, improved service, and wider screens were one of the benefits of the so called “Economy Deluxe” package. EVA Air’s longest flight takes 15hours and 55 Minutes. However, I doubt most Economy Class passengers look forward to a 16 hours flight whenever the plane takes off at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. The flight is among the 25 longest flights in the world, and covers the 12,776 kilometres it takes to Taiwan’s capital Taipei. Another major airline is about to retire it 747 Jumbo fleet on the 27th of March 2017. On the 1st of October 2016, Cathay Pacific is saying farewell to its last Jumbo when the ‘Queen of the Skies’ takes off for a very last adventure to Tokyo. The Taiwanese Airline just recently made an order for 24 787-10 Dreamliners which is the biggest version of Boeing’s latest aircraft worth 8 Billion dollars. That makes EVA Air the 3rd Asian customer for this specific Boeing version. EVA Air operates a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, with Airbus A330, Airbus A321, Boeing 777, Boeing 787, and ATR 72 (operated by UNI Air) airliners primarily used on passenger routes, along with Boeing 777 freighter aircraft used on cargo routes. The airline was one of the first carriers to introduce the Premium Economy class, which it debuted in 1991. In June 2016, the Taiwanese airline got upgraded from a 4 to a 5-Star Airliner, joining a very privileged club. World class Airlines such as Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, or Hainan Airlines are all part of this amazing alliance. EVA Air is to date without any loss of an aircraft. It is also without passenger fatalities in its operational history, making it the third safest carrier on Earth. This is dominated by Asian carriers, the safest European Airline is the Amsterdam-based KLM.
- Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways, another great innovator is in 9th spot with its award-winning catering and Business Class Qsuites. In 1999 airlines such as Qantas, Air Berlin, American Airlines or Finnair teamed up to form the counterpart of Star Alliance and SkyTeam. Qatar sponsors the best team in the world. Qatar Airways is the first airline to operate all new generation aircrafts in it’s fleet. Many big players in the aviation market are undergoing big changes within their fleets, introducing new airplanes, replacing the older ones. While many airlines decided to operate either the Airbus A350, the Dreamliner or the Super Jumbo A380, the Doha based airline decided to make orders for all of them, being the first airliner to operate all 3 of them. The daily service from Doha to Auckland which is due to take off on December 3rd, 2016, is going to be the longest flight on earth. The distance between Qatar’s capital and the biggest city in New Zealand is 14,536 kilometres. The flight attendants are going to announce an estimated flight time of 18 hours and 30 minutes. On January 1st in 2016 an Airbus A350 embarked for a historical flight, being the first airline to land an Airbus 350 on American soil. When the new airliner left Doha Hamad International Airport it wasn’t heading for Los Angeles, Atlanta or New York as you would probably expect.
Qatar Airways is the best airline in the world. According to the World Airlines Award 2015, Qatar Airways was voted the number one airline on earth. The state owned carrier has won in the category best business class and best airline in the Middle East as well as best business class lounge. Seems like the perfect airline for any business trip. On the 15th of January 2015 the brand new Airbus A350-900 took off for it’s first commercial flight from Doha to Frankfurt. Development costs are estimated at 11 billion Euros and to date 777 350’s have been ordered by 43 worldwide customers. Qatar Airways base or better known as Hamad International Airport, was voted “Best Airport” in the Middle East, succeeding the two United Arab Emirates Airports located in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The new hub opened on April 30 in 2014 and is only 10 kilometres south of the Doha city center with is reachable by metro and frequent busses. Only a handful airlines are connecting their hubs with a straight flight to all inhabitant continents, Qatar Airways is one of them. Which also makes Hamad International one of only 5 airports in the world offering a non-stop connection to all 6 of them. Qatar Airways has since become one of the fastest growing carriers in the history of aviation with unprecedented expansion averaging double digit growth year on year. In April 2011, Qatar Airways reached a milestone reaching 100 destinations in its global route map.
- Virgin Australia Airlines
The airline took out Best Cabin Crew and Best Economy for 2020. It is an Australian-based airline. Airline has since grown to directly serve 33 cities in Australia, from hubs in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Virgin Australia’s young and stylish fleet currently flies you to over 45 destinations across Australia in addition to a number of international destinations including New Zealand, Indonesia and the Pacific Islands. It is the largest airline by fleet size to use the Virgin brand. It commenced services on 31 August 2000 as Virgin Blue as a low-cost airline with two Boeing 737-400 aircraft. The The airline’s headquarters is based in South Bank, Queensland. In 2011, the airline went through a massive transformation—the changing of its brand to Virgin Australia. This included the introduction of a new aircraft livery, new uniforms, and new onboard menu options. New wide-body aircraft were acquired for use to compete with Qantas, and the roll-out of business class across all the Virgin Australia network. It is providing a seamless experience across all international and domestic markets, while retaining the same excellent service. Virgin Australia’s most important commercial partner is Delta (due to their transpacific joint venture), while the airline is owned by Etihad Airways, Hainan Airlines, and Singapore Airlines. Australia’s second-largest airline is Virgin Australia.
In 2001, 14 new routes were launched, expanding to a true national domestic network. Virgin Australia welcomed its millionth Guest onboard in June 2001. In 2003, Virgin Blue Holidays, Virgin Blue’s holiday arm, was launched. Virgin Blue Holdings floated on the Australian Stock Exchange in December 2003, and Patrick Corporation invested a further $137m at the time of the Initial Public Offering. In 2004, Pacific Blue, a New Zealand-based leisure-focussed international airline, was launched, offering flights between Australia, New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu. In 2005, another Blue airline, Polynesian Blue, was launched in partnership with the Government of Samoa, with the first flight departing Auckland for Apia. In 2007, plans to establish a long haul international airline, V Australia, were announced, and Pacific Blue launched domestic services in New Zealand. In 2009, V Australia flies for the first time from Sydney to Los Angeles and Brisbane to Los Angeles. In 2012, Virgin Australia was awarded ‘Best Airline’ and ‘Best Staff Service’ in the 2012 Skytrax World Airline Awards. The airline began flying in New Zealand (formerly Pacific Blue), and Virgin Samoa (formerly Polynesian Blue) took-off in Samoa. In 2013, Virgin Australia has officially launched its new wireless in-flight entertainment system. In August 2015, Virgin Australia converted its outstanding order for 17 Boeing B737-800 aircraft to the Boeing 737 MAX 8 model. With the 23 Boeing B737 MAX 8 aircraft already on order, this conversion brings the order for this type to a total of 40 aircraft, with the first delivery for 2018. In 2016, Virgin Australia introduced new Business class and Economy Premium cabins on its long-haul international routes on board Boeing 777 aircraft.
