Singapore Airlines named world’s best airline for 2026

SIA’s low-cost subsidiary Scoot, meanwhile, was named best long-haul low-cost airline for the sixth consecutive year. 

The budget carrier also came in second in the world’s best low-cost airlines category after Malaysia’s AirAsia and ahead of Spain’s Vueling Airlines.

“This recognition validates Scoot’s commitment to providing our customers with comfortable, reliable and seamless travel experiences,” said Scoot CEO Leslie Thng.

“Scoot will continue to innovate, strengthen our operational resilience, and enhance the customer experience as we reinforce our position as a leading low-cost carrier.”

The awards were based on a survey of over 24.8 million travellers globally, who rated over 300 airlines between September 2025 and August 2026.

Introduced in 1999, the awards are described as the Oscars of the aviation industry, according to their organiser Skytrax.

“We congratulate the Singapore Airlines Group on the major achievement of being named the world’s best airline 2026 for Singapore Airlines, and the best long-haul low-cost airline for Scoot,” said Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted.

“These successes highlight the level of product and service excellence they are providing to customers and should be a source of great pride and motivation for the management and staff in the group.”

Singapore Airlines and Scoot carried a record total of 42.4 million passengers in the 2025 to 2026 financial year, 7.7 per cent more than the 39.4 million they served in the previous financial year.

However, the group also reported a net loss of S$76 million in the first quarter of 2026, as a 78.5 per cent increase in net fuel costs due to the turmoil in the Middle East and a larger share of losses from Air India weighed on results.

Supply chain constraints have also led to SIA delaying its rollout of new first and business class seats on its Airbus A350s to the first quarter of 2027, later than the initially announced second quarter of 2026.