Air Canada today ranked as the best airline in Canada and the 38th best airline in the world, according to more than 20 million online surveys tallied by Skytrax. It also won Skytrax's top award worldwide in a new category of its awards: family friendly airline.
The Skytrax rankings are esteemed in the industry because of the volume of customer responses and Skytrax's reputation for ranking airlines and airports since 1999.
Skytrax explained that its new award for the most family-friendly airline "includes family seating policies, dedicated family check-in facilities, priority boarding, children’s meals, children’s amenities / toys / activity packs, child specific onboard entertainment, free checked luggage and policies for carrycot / pushchairs, and the standard of service assistance from ground staff and cabin crew during the travel experience."
Air Canada jumped 12 spots on Skytrax's list of Top 100 airlines worldwide, given that it was positioned as the world's 50th best airline last year. Other Canadian airlines that made SkyTrax's list of 100 best airlines include Air Transat at No. 62, WestJet at No. 64, Air Canada Rouge at No. 93 and Porter Airlines at No. 99.
Asian and European airlines dominated the top of the list.
The customer surveys deemed that these are the top 10 ranked global airlines based on general satisfaction:
1) Singapore Airlines;
2) Qatar Airways;
3) ANA All Nippon Airways;
4) Emirates;
5) Japan Airlines;
6) Turkish Airlines;
7) Air France;
8) Cathay Pacific Airways;
9) EVA Air; and
10) Korean Air.
No other Canadian airline ranked on Skytrax's Top 10 list of family-friendly airlines, which also includes:
2) Singapore Airlines;
3) Emirates;
4) Qatar Airways;
5) ANA All Nippon Airways;
6) Japan Airlines;
7) Virgin Atlantic;
8) Etihad Airways;
9) EVA Air; and
10) British Airways.
Air Canada's staff ranked No. 3 in North America, behind Delta Airlines and Alaska Airlines. WestJet ranked No. 4 on that list, with Porter Airlines ranking No. 10.
Qatar Airways ranked as having the best business class service, followed by Singapore Airlines and Emerites. Delta Airlines, at No. 5 was the top North American airline for business-class service. No Canadian airline ranked among the Top 20 airlines for business-class service.
Skytrax in March released its 2023 ranking of global airports.
Air travellers surveyed said Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is the best airport in Canada, the second-best airport in North America and the 20th best airport in the world.
