AirlineRatings is out with a list of its top 20 airlines of 2020. What should we make of the list?
I always hesitate to even write about these lists, since they are so inherently arbitrary. Yet since this top-20 list has made headlines around the world, I will address it.
The AirlineRatings team included seven editors who used the following criteria to arrive at its rankings:
- Fleet age
- Passenger reviews
- Profitability
- Investment rating
- Product offerings
- Staff relations
And already, I have a question. Which passenger reviews? How does profitability impact whether an airline is best…it is a reminder that “best” is also arbitrary and depends upon the perspective. How are staff relations gauged? For example, Finnair treats its staff well, but its staff is striking in solidarity with Finnish postal workers. Does that count?
Even when methodologies are explained, there is no clear way to discern what is objectively better or worse. The smartest way to know which carrier to choose is to study the specific product and evaluate whether that works for you or not. That’s why I write detailed reviews. These reviews are obviously influenced my own biases, but are comprehensive enough that you can see what is offered and make your own choice.
The Top 20
That said, let’s explore the top-20 list form AirlineRatings:
- Air New Zealand
- Singapore Airlines
- All Nippon Airways
- Qantas
- Cathay Pacific
- Emirates
- Virgin Atlantic
- EVA Air
- Qatar Airways
- Virgin Australia
- Lufthansa
- Finnair
- Japan Airlines
- KLM
- Korean Airlines
- Hawaiian Airlines
- British Airways
- Alaska Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- Etihad Airways
In defending its choice of Air New Zealand, AirlineRatings said:
In our analysis, Air New Zealand came out number one in most of our audit criteria, which is an outstanding performance when it’s up against carriers with more resources and scale on this same list of best airlines for 2020.
Air New Zealand’s commitment to excellence in all facets of its business starts at the top with outstanding governance and one of the best executive teams in aviation through to a workforce that is delivering consistently to the airline’s strategy and customer promise.
And the safety videos?
All I can say is that the list is reasonable. There are no huge outliers that I can see.
CONCLUSION
Next year, I’ll offer my own list on Live and Let’s Fly of my top 10 carriers. My list will also be subjective, but it will be based upon only my own reviews. In that sense, you can do what you want with my list just like any other, but at least it will provide a very consistent baseline based upon passenger experience, which I think is more important to travelers than whether the airline is profitable (after all, Alitalia is bankrupt, but wonderful onboard).
Playing Devil’s advocate, I’ll throw out a thought regarding their ranking criteria. Might not profitability imply stability? I may not care if my carrier is making money, but, from a frequent flyer standpoint, I do care about promised benefits sticking around (not that airlines don’t capriciously modify benefits for whatever reasons they deem appropriate).
The list does make me curious about all of these airlines that I’m unlikely to be flying anytime soon, though.
Fair point.
Though for most Americans – who will interface with the top 10 airlines listed above a handful of times in their lives – short-term on-board experience will be the trump card to all the other criteria.
Agreed. Case in point: I have flown none of those top 10 airlines ever. And the only one of those 20 that I fly with any regularity is Lufthansa.
That is the same for non-americans. People who fly once or twice a year have few reference points and will only remember very positive or very negative exceptions.
It is people who fly a lot that will recognise differences in several aspects. I probably take about 40-60 flights a year and when spending that much time in the air, one becomes quite perceptive. There are airlines that I prefer, I would say any of the 20 from the list work for me, and there are airlines that I violently avoid at any cost: American Airlines, Lion Air, Malindo, Ryanair, Transavia to mention a few.
I find the lack of Swiss on the list disturbing.
And don’t tell me it’s the same as Lufthansa because it is not.
“disturbing” is a bit strong no? They’re a lot like Virgin to me where their service, branding, and marketing makes up for a product that’s not quite world-class.
I might quibble with the exact placement of airlines, but this is actually a fair list. Perhaps it benefits from the “dumb but lucky” rule, but color me surprised nonetheless.
It’s a good list. NH, EK, CX, SQ and BR certainly make my top 10 list. JL could go higher, LH could go lower. I might quibble with inclusion of BA, KE, and KL, and the exclusion of TK and LX. But the exclusion of AA, AC, AF, and UA is totally appropriate and lends credibility.
List is reasonable I would say except for the missing TK.
Credibility is gained by excluding all US airlines except Hawaiian and Alaska.
So NZ basically got the top nod for doing more with less. That sounds like a “you don’t smell bad for a fat guy” compliment and is indicative of some seriously flawed thinking.
“There are on huge outliers that I can see.” (last sentence)
I’m usually forgiving of typos and try to re-engineer. This one, I don’t even know what it means.
“Finnair treats its staff well, but its staff is striking in solidarity with Finnish postal workers”
Not true, it’s staff at the airport that were on solidarity strike. If the airport is not loading your bags or re-fueling your planes, it’s a bit more difficult to fly.. Also other airlines had to cancel some flights but obviously at HEL Finnair is the dominant one.
NZ is flavour of the month with the hipster set. Maybe the kale and quinoa smoothies are good.
Air NZ is decent enough, but the earth doesn’t move. It’s just a 3.5 star carrier ( like dozens of others). Not in the same league as QR or CZ but better than QF.
Honestly No Airline with a 3-4-3 seating in economy on 777s should be allowed to be on the top ten spots in any “best” list. While NZ has good service, a good premium economy product, and runs some nice lounges, the outdated business class seats and the cramped economy class make me wonder why they are number one! Qantas has a better business class suite-type seats now and Virgin Australia has a top notch business suite product too.
Anyway, look forward to your own list next year!