Ethiopian Airlines was ranked as the best African airline for the seventh time, according to the Skytrax World Airline Awards.
Moreover, the airline was awarded in three categories: Best Business Class in Africa (six years in a row), Best Economic Class in Africa (six years in a row), and Best Economic Class Onboard Catering in Africa.
“We are pleased to have proudly received the prestigious World Airline Award 2024 for the seventh consecutive year. At Ethiopian Airlines, our unwavering dedication to customer-centric innovation has been pivotal to our success. We remain at the forefront of the aviation industry by continually adopting cutting-edge technology to elevate our passengers’ experience," CEO Mesfin Tasew Bekele was quoted as saying by Walta state media.
In the international ranking of the top 100 air carriers, Ethiopian Airlines ranked 36th, one place lower than last year.
Following Ethiopian Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, South African Airways, Kenya Airways, RwandAir, and Egyptair ranked 2nd to 6th in Africa, respectively.
As for the top three airlines in the world, Qatar Airways was ranked first, Singapore Airlines was ranked second, and Emirates took third place.
In May, Ethiopian Airlines inaugurated a new $50 million domestic passenger terminal in Addis Ababa, built by China Communications Construction Company. The expansion doubles the size of the terminal to 25,270 square meters and provides state-of-the-art facilities to meet the growing demand for domestic air travel in Ethiopia, fueled by recent tourism development.
The World Airline Awards, launched in 1999 by the UK-based consultancy Skytrax, aim to provide a global survey of customer satisfaction, according to its website. Travelers worldwide vote in the largest airline passenger satisfaction survey, with no entry or registration fees for airlines and no charges for using the Award logos and results.
Running from September 2023 to May 2024, the survey was available in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese. Over 100 nationalities participated, with entries screened to remove duplicates and ineligible submissions, resulting in more than 350 airlines featured in the final award results.