World Airline Awards

Every summer, SKYTRAX asks passengers from around the world to pass judgment on the airlines that have fed them, folded them into economy seats, misplaced their luggage and occasionally delivered them to the correct continent.

Some 14 million surveys from passengers of more than 90 nationalities are compiled into the annual World Airline Awards, essentially the Oscars of commercial aviation, only with more reheated chicken and less cleavage.

The results for 2007:

• Airline of the Year: Singapore Airlines
• Best Cabin Staff: Malaysia Airlines
• Best Catering: Gulf Air
• Best In-Flight-Entertainment: Emirates
• Best Lounges (First Class): Thai Airways
• Best Low-cost Airline: Jetstar Airways
• Best First Class: Qatar Airways
• Best Business Class: Singapore Airlines
• Best Economy Class: Korean Air

Singapore Changi airport. You’re probably still dreaming.

No great shocks here. Singapore Airlines taking the top prize seems almost inevitable. Singapore Changi is still the best airport I’ve ever experienced. A place so clean, efficient and civilized that you begin to suspect you’ve accidentally been teleported into a commercial. So it seems only fair that the airline carrying you there should be equally competent.

Even the toilets have a good view at Singapore Changi.

The more interesting name on the list is Jetstar Airways, winner of the low-cost category. “Best low-cost airline” can sometimes sound a little like “best prison cafeteria”, but Jetstar apparently managed to rise above the usual bargain-airline formula of cramped seats, mysterious fees and treating passengers as inconvenient cargo.

One to keep an eye on. Because when somebody manages to make flying cheap and vaguely pleasant, that qualifies as a minor miracle.