The world's best airline for 2016 is Dubai-based Emirates,
according to the Skytrax World Airline Awards.
Skytrax surveyed millions of airline passengers to determine the Top 100 airlines in the world,
CNN reported. The awards were announced Tuesday at the Farnborough International Airshow in England.
"The Middle East airlines have continued to dominate," Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted said. "Virgin America continues dominating on the customer side in North America. Turkish Airlines is a big favorite."
Emirates rose from its previous No. 5 spot to nudge out last year's winner, Qatar Airways, which dropped to No. 2 in the 2016 ranking.
“We are honored to be recognized by the prestigious Skytrax awards,"
Emirates president Tim Clark said in a news release.
"Emirates has always put our customers at the heart of what we do, and we work hard to deliver the very best experience possible to our customers at every touch point, every day, all around the world … The fact that these awards are based on the direct feedback from passengers is gratifying and wonderful recognition for all of the hard work that’s gone into creating the Emirates experience.”
Emirates has won the overall top ranking four times since 1999,
USA Today reported.
Other recent consumer-focused rankings include Travel + Leisure magazine's ranking announced earlier this month, which put Singapore Airlines at the top of the list, with Emirates the runner up. J.D. Power's survey of North American carriers put JetBlue and Alaska Airlines in the top positions. Virgin America
came out on top of Wichita State University's Airline Quality Rating.
Below are the World's Top 100 Airlines in 2016, according to Skytrax:
1. Emirates
2. Qatar Airways
3. Singapore Airlines
4. Cathay Pacific
5. ANAs
6. Etihad Airways
7. Turkish Airlines
8. EVA Air
9. Qantas Airways
10. Lufthansa
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