Qatar Airways' reign at the top of the Skytrax World Airline Awards is over — for now. The Doha-based carrier, which had taken the world's best airline title in 2024 and 2025, was nudged into second place this year by Singapore Airlines, with Cathay Pacific rounding out the podium in third.

The result matters because Skytrax is the closest thing aviation has to a people's choice award: 24.8 million travellers cast votes globally between September 2025 and August 2026. Singapore Airlines' chief executive Goh Choon Phong called the win a testament to the airline's staff, and Skytrax framed it as recognition of the carrier's consistently strong product and service.

For anyone who assumed Qatar Airways had a terrible year, think again. The airline still collected a hefty stack of silverware: World's Best Business Class for the 13th time thanks to its Qsuite, Best Business Class Lounge for the Al Mourjan Business Lounge The Garden, Best Airline in the Middle East — and the inaugural World's Best Onboard WiFi award. That last one is genuinely useful to know about: Qatar's Oryx Comms network uses Starlink on its Boeing 777s, 787 Dreamliners and A350s, delivering speeds up to 500 Mbps gate-to-gate across more than 150 aircraft. Privilege Club members get guaranteed connectivity for the whole flight, and equipped routes include heavyweights like London, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Istanbul and Stockholm.

The wider top 10 is a story of Asian and Middle Eastern dominance. All Nippon Airways took fourth, Emirates sixth, Hainan Airlines eighth, Japan Airlines ninth and Korean Air tenth. Only two European carriers made the cut: Turkish Airlines in fifth and Air France in seventh. Elsewhere in the category awards, Cathay Pacific won best cabin crew, Taiwan's STARLUX was named cleanest airline, Singapore Airlines took best economy class, and its low-cost subsidiary Scoot won best long-haul budget carrier.

If you're picking flights for a long-haul trip, this list is a handy shortlist. Asian carriers dominate premium and economy products alike, while Qatar Airways remains the one to beat at the front of the plane — and now arguably in the air, too, if inflight internet is a priority. Qatar's CEO Hamad Al Khater noted the award haul came during an exceptionally difficult year for the region, with his 60,000-strong team keeping operations running through new Middle East conflict. For travellers, the practical takeaway is simple: whether you fly Singapore Airlines for the all-round package or Qatar for business class and WiFi, you're booking with two of the most decorated airlines in the sky.