AirlineRatings.com has named Air New Zealand the 2017 airline of the year in its Airline Excellence Awards, recognizing the carrier for winning the title for the fourth consecutive year.
The Australia-based site highlighted Air New Zealand’s strong financial results, innovative in‑flight products, high operational safety standards, environmental initiatives and the motivation and customer focus of its staff. The Airline Excellence Awards evaluate airlines using a combination of four major international industry and government audits alongside nine key performance criteria, including fleet age, passenger review ratings, profitability, investment ratings and the quality of core product offerings.
Geoffrey Thomas, editor in chief of AirlineRatings, said Air New Zealand performed exceptionally across the audit criteria. “Air New Zealand came out number one in virtually all of our audit criteria, which is an exceptional performance,” he said. “Quite simply Air New Zealand is an airline of first choice. And given the airline’s location and the country’s size, its performance is even more remarkable.”
Other winners in the awards reflected strengths across a range of passenger services. Qantas claimed multiple honors, taking top awards for Best Lounges, Best Catering and Best Domestic Service. Etihad Airways and Virgin Australia were singled out for their premium cabin experiences, with Etihad winning Best First Class and Virgin Australia awarded Best Business Class. Virgin Australia and its partner Virgin Atlantic also won Best Cabin Crew for the third consecutive year, a recognition of sustained excellence in onboard service. Emirates was recognized as a leader in passenger entertainment, securing the award for Best In‑Flight Entertainment.
Regional leadership for long‑haul operations was acknowledged across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East/Africa and Asia/Pacific. Delta Air Lines was named the long‑haul excellence winner for the Americas, Virgin Atlantic for Europe, Etihad for the Middle East/Africa region and Singapore Airlines for Asia/Pacific. These distinctions emphasize both operational scale and the ability to maintain consistent long‑haul service quality.
The awards also listed a top ten ranking of the world’s best airlines for 2017. The top ten comprised Air New Zealand, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, the Virgin group (Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia), British Airways, Etihad Airways, All Nippon Airways, EVA Air and Lufthansa. This ranking reflects a balance of factors such as safety records, passenger feedback, overall product offering and financial stability.
Overall, the Airline Excellence Awards aim to reward carriers that combine safe operations with strong customer satisfaction and commercial performance. The 2017 results highlighted carriers that have invested in product innovation, crew training and consistent service delivery while maintaining sound financial health, signaling that success in the competitive aviation market depends on an integrated approach to safety, service and business strength.