Most of 2020 and 2021 has been a tough period for the aviation industry. This is mainly because of the coronavirus pandemic which forced airlines to ground their planes for several weeks in a stretch. But there is definitely some good news for a Middle East carrier. Qatar Airways has won the award of being the world’s best airline. The award has been presented by Skytrax that announces the list of best airports annually. It conducts a survey and the winners are announced based on these results. But this time the customer survey went on for 23 months i.e. from September 2019 to July 2021. Singapore Airlines and ANA All Nippon Airways were ranked second and third respectively.
The award was announced based on the feedback of users who asked about the performance and quality of more than 350 airlines from around the world. Commenting on the award, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker said that the award is recognition of the incredible work team Qatar Airways has done. “I want to thank all our valued customers for their loyalty. We continued to serve our customers even during the toughest times. Being awarded the ‘best airline’ in the world for the sixth time is a huge achievement. This also gives our customers confidence that they will get the best services in Qatar,” Baker said.
Meanwhile, Qatar Airways has said that it has received around USD 3 billion in state aid. The aid would help the airline to offset losses because of the coronavirus pandemic and will help out weather the downturn. Qatar Airways has reported a loss of more than USD 4.1 billion when compared to the same period last year. The airline reported its annual operating loss of USD 228.3 million. This was less than USD 310 billion. With restrictions being eased, the Qatar airline has started to witness a slight uptick in overall earnings.
