‘World’s best airline’ for 2026 is namedSEP 18, 2026
1. Air transport rating organization Skytrax has announced its best airlines for 2026. Taking the top spot is Singapore Airlines,marking the sixth time the airline's been crowned Skytrax's airline of the year. Airline CEO Goh Choon Phong said the award was a "testament to the dedication and professionalism of our people."航空运输评级机构 Skytrax 公布了 2026 年最佳航空公司。排名第一的是新加坡航空，这也是该航空公司第六次被评为 Skytrax 年度最佳航空公司。航空公司首席执行官 Goh Choon Phong 表示，该奖项“证明了我们公司的奉献精神和专业精神”。
2. Qatar Airways: Number two on the list is Qatar Airways, last year's Skytrax overall winner. Qatar also won the award for world's best business class airline, in recognition of its upscale options, and world's best onboard Wi-Fi, a new category for 2026. Pictured here: Qatar Airways' "Qsuite" business class set-up. Bertrand卡塔尔航空：排名第二的是去年 Skytrax 总冠军卡塔尔航空。卡塔尔还因其高档服务和 2026 年新类别全球最佳机上 Wi-Fi 荣获“全球最佳商务舱航空公司”奖。图为：卡塔尔航空的“Qsuite”商务舱设置。
3. Cathay Pacific: Skytrax ranks Cathay Pacific as third best airline for 2026. Cathay Pacific also won the gong for world's best cabin crew and was awarded world’s best first class airline lounge for its Hong Kong-based "Wing" lounge. Pictured here: Cathay Pacific's business class "Bridge" lounge 国泰航空：Skytrax 将国泰航空评为 2026 年最佳航空公司第三名。国泰航空还荣获全球最佳机组人员奖，并以其位于香港的“Wing”休息室荣获全球最佳头等舱航空公司休息室奖。图为：国泰航空商务舱“Bridge”休息室
4: ANA All Nippon Airways: This Japanese carrier is fourth on Skytrax's list, and the airline also won the award for world’s best airport services. James Matsumoto/SOPA Images/Shutterstock 全日空航空公司：这家日本航空公司在 Skytrax 排行榜上排名第四，该航空公司还获得了全球最佳机场服务奖。
5: Turkish Airlines: Turkish Airlines is fifth on Skytrax's list. The airline also won best airline in Europe, the world’s best business class catering, and the best airline in southern Europe Mario Tama/Getty Images土耳其航空：土耳其航空在 Skytrax 排行榜上排名第五。该航空公司还荣获欧洲最佳航空公司、全球最佳商务舱餐饮、南欧最佳航空公司等奖项
6. Emirates: Dubai-based Emirates is sixth on the list, and also won world’s best airline inflight entertainment. Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images阿联酋航空：总部位于迪拜的阿联酋航空排名第六，还荣获“全球最佳航空公司机上娱乐”奖。
7: Air France: Number seven on Skytrax's list is Air France. France's flagship carrier also won awards for world’s best first class, world’s best first class lounge dining, the world’s best first class comfort amenities and best airline in western Europe. Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images 法航：Skytrax 名单上排名第七的是法航。这家法国旗舰航空公司还荣获“世界最佳头等舱”、“世界最佳头等舱休息室餐饮”、“世界最佳头等舱舒适设施”和“西欧最佳航空公司”等奖项。
8. Hainan Airlines: Hainan Airlines won a handful of awards — best airline in China, the best airline staff service in China and the world’s best business class airline amenities — and is ranked number eight on the overall round-up. Tingshu Wang/Reuters 海南航空：海南航空荣获多项奖项——中国最佳航空公司、中国最佳航空公司员工服务以及全球最佳商务舱航空公司设施——并在总体排名中排名第八。
9. Japan Airlines: Japan Airlines is ninth on Skytrax's list. Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted told CNN that the quality of service being offered to flyers by winning airlines continues to grow each year. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images 日本航空：日本航空在 Skytrax 排行榜上排名第九。 Skytrax 首席执行官 Edward Plaisted 告诉 CNN，获奖航空公司为旅客提供的服务质量每年都在持续提高。
10. Korean Air: Rounding out the top 10 of what's known as the aviation industry Oscars is is Korean Air. Dogyun Kim/Reuters 大韩航空：大韩航空跻身素有航空业奥斯卡之称的前十名。
London — Wars. Climate chaos. Soaring fuel prices. Disruptive passengers duct-taped (用管道胶带捆住) to their seats. It's not getting any easier to run an airline in these turbulent (动荡的；混乱的) times, but some are clearly doing it better than others.
In recognition of that, the annual Skytrax Awards — known as the aviation industry's Oscars for their glitzy (浮华的；耀眼的) celebration of the global and regional airlines that mostly get us to where we want to go — has once again convened (召集；集会) to crown one as the world's best.
For 2026 the winner is Singapore Airlines. The Asian carrier was presented with the award at a ceremony on Friday, September 18 at London's posh (高档的；豪华的) Langham Hotel, where fiercely competitive airline bosses briefly gathered under a mutual truce (停战；休战) for handshakes, canapés (小点心；开胃小食) and a slew of other trophies recognizing everything from onboard Wi-Fi to cabin cleanliness.
It was the sixth time Singapore has picked up the top prize in the awards' 25-year history, adding to previous wins in 2023, 2018 and a clutch (一批；一组) in the noughties (2000年代). It reclaimed (夺回；收回) it from last year's victor, Qatar Airways, which has won nine times in the past 15 years.
In fact, as Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted noted, the award has almost exclusively remained in the possession of an elite cadre (骨干团队；核心小组) of seven airlines, most of which still managed to place in this year's top 20.
Dance routines
In the final rundown, Qatar dropped down to second place, with Cathay Pacific Airways, Japan's All Nippon Airways, Turkish Airlines and Emirates rounding out the top six.
Only past winner British Airways was missing from this year's list. US carriers were completely absent — a frequent state of affairs on the Skytrax list — with Air Canada the sole North American representative.
The big prize, said Goh Choon Phong, Singapore's CEO, in a pre-prepared statement, was a "testament (证明；见证) to the dedication and professionalism of our people." Some of those people were among the many flight crews attending the event in full uniform — a dash of color in a room dominated by dark blue suits. A lucky few got to perform dance routines on stage for the gathered crowd.
Singapore also picked up trophies for its economy class and economy class catering. There were plenty of other prizes to go around — all determined by a global customer satisfaction survey organized by Skytrax, a UK-based aviation consultancy (咨询公司).
Qatar was named best carrier in the Middle East, and also won prizes for its business class, onboard Wi-Fi and business-class lounge. Cathay Pacific picked up prizes for its cabin crew and first-class airline lounge.
All the glad-handing (热情握手；友好寒暄) couldn't quite cast off the numerous shadows facing the aviation industry right now, with the Iran conflict, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the rising cost of oil, new aircraft delays and souring US international relations among the topics discussed on the sidelines (场边；旁会).
'A bit of a bad year'
Perhaps acknowledging a recent UK air traffic meltdown (崩溃；瘫痪) that heavily disrupted flights in and out of the country, the event's emcee (主持人) — announcing that one award was being presented early to allow its recipient to dash for a flight departing in under three hours — remarked: "Good luck with that."
Yet, said Skytrax's Plaisted, the quality being offered by airlines to flyers continues to grow each — even in "a bit of a bad year."
"The passenger experience, mainly driven by the industry's increasingly fierce competition, is always getting better," he told CNN. "It takes a big event — a 9/11 event — to really cause a problem."
Other notable awards included recognition of emerging Taiwanese carrier STARLUX's ascendancy (崛起；上升) to Skytrax's five-star rating category. Importantly, in the post-Covid age, it also took home the award for cleanest cabin.
Meanwhile, Air France won best first class and EVA Air, another Taiwanese carrier, won best premium economy. The top five budget airlines were named as: AirAsia, Scoot, Vueling, Eurowings and Iberia Express.
Bangkok Airways was named best airline in Asia — and best regional airline globally. Ethiopian Airlines was the best in Africa, Chilean multinational carrier LATAM led in South America, while Turkish Airlines was the best in Europe.
In North America, Air Canada was declared the winner. It also picked up the trophy for best business class lounge dining.
Fight for premium
Mark Nasr, Air Canada's executive vice president, said the Skytrax awards — which come as the airline is looking to expand its role as a global carrier, not just serving routes to and from Canada — are crucial for survival as carriers increasingly look to big spenders to keep them afloat.
"The industry is getting more competitive," he told CNN. "There's a theme right now around the growth of premium travel and customers that are very discerning (有辨别力的；挑剔的). They have large budgets, and airlines are investing to earn that business. With fuel prices increasing so much, the airlines that will be able to sustain themselves will be the ones able to charge a premium to justify their products."
Air Canada was well-placed to survive the current storms thanks to a healthy balance sheet, loyal customer base and resilient (有韧性的；适应力强的) staff, Nasr said. The airline will also endure the recent President Trump-fueled spats between Canada and the United States.
"Relationships ebb and flow (起伏；盛衰) over time, but we continue to believe in the core strength of the partnership — economic and social — between the US and Canada and we'll weather the current circumstances."
Skytrax's airlines of the year 2026
1. Singapore Airlines
2. Qatar Airways
3. Cathay Pacific Airways
4. All Nippon Airways
5. Turkish Airlines
6. Emirates
7. Air France
8. Hainan Airlines
9. Japan Airlines
10. Korean Air
11. EVA Air
12. Qantas Airways
13. STARLUX Airlines
14. Lufthansa
15. Saudi Arabian Airlines
16. Iberia
17. Air Canada
18. Virgin Atlantic
19. Swiss International Air Lines
20. Thai Airways
全文翻译
伦敦讯——战争、气候混乱、油价飙升、闹事乘客被胶带绑在座位上。在这个动荡时代，经营航空公司越来越难，但有些公司显然做得比别人好。
为了表彰这一点，一年一度的Skytrax大奖——被誉为航空业奥斯卡，以浮华方式庆祝那些把我们从一地送到另一地的全球和区域航司——再次召开，评选出全球最佳。
2026年的赢家是新加坡航空。这家亚洲航司在周五（9月18日）伦敦豪华朗廷酒店举行的颁奖礼上捧杯，竞争激烈的航司老板们短暂休战，握手寒暄、吃小点心，还有一堆奖杯，从机上Wi-Fi到客舱清洁度，应有尽有。
这是新加坡航空在Skytrax 25年历史上第六次拿下最高奖，此前曾在2023年、2018年和2000年代多次获奖。它从去年的冠军卡塔尔航空手中夺回桂冠——卡塔尔在过去15年里赢了九次。
事实上，正如Skytrax CEO爱德华·普莱斯特德指出的，这个奖项几乎一直被七家精英航司垄断，其中大多数今年仍跻身前20。
舞蹈表演
最终排名中，卡塔尔航空降至第二，国泰航空、日本全日空、土耳其航空和阿联酋航空位列前六。
只有曾经的赢家英国航空缺席今年榜单。美国航司完全不见踪影——这在Skytrax榜单上是常态——加拿大航空是唯一的北美代表。
新加坡航空CEO吴俊鹏在事先准备好的声明中说，这个大奖是“对我们员工奉献和专业的证明”。一些员工穿着全套制服参加了活动——在深蓝色西装主导的房间里添了一抹亮色。少数幸运儿还在台上为观众表演了舞蹈。
新加坡航空还拿下了经济舱和经济舱餐食奖。其他奖项也不少——全部由Skytrax（英国航空咨询公司）组织的全球客户满意度调查决定。
卡塔尔航空被评为中东最佳航司，还拿下商务舱、机上Wi-Fi和商务舱休息室奖。国泰航空拿下客舱乘务员和头等舱休息室奖。
再多的热情握手也掩盖不了航空业当前面临的阴影——伊朗冲突、俄罗斯入侵乌克兰、油价上涨、新飞机交付延迟、美国国际关系恶化，都是场边讨论的话题。
“有点糟糕的一年”
也许是承认最近英国空中交通瘫痪严重扰乱了进出英国的航班，活动主持人——宣布某个奖项提前颁发，好让获奖者赶三小时内的航班——调侃道：“祝你好运。”
不过，Skytrax的普莱斯特德说，航司提供给乘客的品质每年都在提升——即使在“有点糟糕的一年”。
“乘客体验，主要受行业日益激烈的竞争驱动，一直在变好，”他告诉CNN。“需要9/11那种大事件才会真正造成问题。”
其他值得注意的奖项包括新兴台湾地区航司星宇航空升入Skytrax五星评级。重要的是，在后疫情时代，它还拿下了最清洁客舱奖。
同时，法航拿下最佳头等舱，另一家台湾地区航司长荣航空拿下最佳豪华经济舱。最佳廉航前五名是：亚洲航空、酷航、伏林航空、欧洲之翼和伊比利亚快运。
曼谷航空被评为亚洲最佳航司——以及全球最佳区域航司。埃塞俄比亚航空是非洲最佳，智利跨国航司LATAM领跑南美，土耳其航空是欧洲最佳。
北美方面，加拿大航空胜出。它还拿下了最佳商务舱休息室餐饮奖。
争夺高端客
加拿大航空执行副总裁马克·纳斯尔说，Skytrax大奖——正值该航司寻求扩大全球航司角色，而不仅仅是服务加拿大往返航线——对生存至关重要，因为航司越来越依赖大客户来维持运营。
“行业竞争越来越激烈，”他告诉CNN。“现在有个主题是高端旅行的增长和非常挑剔的客户。他们预算大，航司正在投资来赢得这笔生意。随着油价大幅上涨，能维持自己的航司将是那些能收取溢价来证明产品价值的航司。”
纳斯尔说，加拿大航空凭借健康的资产负债表、忠诚的客户群和韧性强的员工，处于挺过当前风暴的有利位置。该航司也将经受住最近特朗普总统引发的加美争端。
“关系随时间起伏，但我们继续相信美加之间经济和社会伙伴关系的核心力量，我们会挺过当前情况。”
Skytrax 2026年度最佳航空公司
1. 新加坡航空
2. 卡塔尔航空
3. 国泰航空
4. 全日空
5. 土耳其航空
6. 阿联酋航空
7. 法国航空
8. 海南航空
9. 日本航空
10. 大韩航空
11. 长荣航空
12. 澳洲航空
13. 星宇航空
14. 汉莎航空
15. 沙特阿拉伯航空
16. 伊比利亚航空
17. 加拿大航空
18. 维珍航空
19. 瑞士国际航空
20. 泰国航空
冷知识讲解
1：Skytrax大奖被称为“航空业奥斯卡”，但它的评选方式是全球乘客问卷调查
Skytrax不是由专家评审团投票，而是通过全球客户满意度调查决定——每年有超过2000万乘客参与，覆盖100多个国家的350多家航司。调查内容包括登机体验、座椅舒适度、餐食、娱乐系统、客舱清洁度、员工服务等。所以这个奖反映的是“乘客真实感受”，而不是“专家意见”。
2：新加坡航空是Skytrax历史上获奖最多的航司之一，但卡塔尔航空才是过去15年的霸主
新加坡航空第六次拿下年度最佳，但卡塔尔航空在过去15年里赢了九次——包括2021、2022、2024、2025年。两家航司几乎垄断了这个奖项。Skytrax的“七家精英航司”说法不是虚的——25年历史里，最高奖几乎只在七家航司之间轮转，新面孔极难突围。
重要单词
1. turbulent — 动荡的；混乱的 — adj.
2. glitzy — 浮华的；耀眼的 — adj.
3. testament — 证明；见证 — n.
4. consultancy — 咨询公司 — n.
5. discerning — 有辨别力的；挑剔的 — adj.
重要词组
1. a slew of — 大量；许多
2. rounding out — 补足；使完整
3. cast off — 摆脱；抛弃
4. on the sidelines — 在场边；在旁会上
5. ebb and flow — 起伏；盛衰
