Singapore Airlines and Scoot at the 2026 Skytrax World Airline Awards

Singapore Airlines (SIA) reclaimed Skytrax’s World’s Best Airline title at the 2026 World Airline Awards in London on September 18. It was SIA’s sixth win and its first since 2023. Its low-cost subsidiary, Scoot, extended a separate winning streak in the long-haul low-cost category. 27

What did Singapore Airlines and Scoot win?

Alongside the overall award, SIA won Best Airline in Asia, World’s Best Economy Class and World’s Best Economy Class Onboard Catering. It finished second in the World’s Best Cabin Crew category rather than winning that award. Scoot was named Best Long Haul Low-Cost Airline for the sixth consecutive year. The cited results do not establish other 2026 category placements for Scoot. 27

How did SIA’s sixth title compare with its previous win and the top five?

SIA last held Skytrax’s overall title in 2023. In 2026, it displaced Qatar Airways, the 2025 winner, which fell to second. Cathay Pacific Airways placed third. A report citing Skytrax’s results puts ANA All Nippon Airways fourth and Turkish Airlines fifth. 2515

2026 overall rank	Airline
1	Singapore Airlines
2	Qatar Airways
3	Cathay Pacific Airways
4	ANA All Nippon Airways
5	Turkish Airlines

The top three are listed by Skytrax; the fourth- and fifth-place positions are reported by Bernama via The Star. 515

How were the awards decided?

Skytrax’s awards were based on a passenger satisfaction survey. SIA says more than 24.8 million travellers rated more than 300 carriers. Reporting on the survey says it ran from September 2025 to August 2026, with respondents assessing aspects of the journey including cleanliness, airport services, lounges and onboard offerings. The results are therefore a measure of surveyed passenger opinion, not a ranking of airline revenue or profit. 1618

What did the results mean for the airlines?

SIA chief executive Goh Choon Phong called the overall award a “testament to the dedication and professionalism of our people” and thanked customers for their trust. Skytrax chief executive Edward Plaisted congratulated SIA, pointing to its product and service performance and its economy-class wins. The supplied source excerpts do not provide a reliable quotation from Scoot’s chief executive about the 2026 award. 21013

The wins came after a financial year in which the SIA Group carried 42.2 million passengers and reported record revenue of $20.5 billion. Those figures provide business context, but they were not the criteria for Skytrax’s passenger-voted awards. The available evidence also does not establish a specific cabin upgrade as the cause of the 2026 results. 11618