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Skytrax have revealed the results on the best airlines in the world. It has come to my attention that the top ten is dominated by Star Alliance airlines followed by other airlines that aren't in an alliance at all such as Qatar Airways and Emirates. But what what really has me wondering is the fact that there isn't one Skyteam airlines in there. What gives?
What gives???........
Not much is the short answer.
This is a web site that places Turkish, BA and Garduda all as 4 star carriers. I ask you, BA and Garuda in the same league!!!
Skytrax awards tend to go to those who pay the highest fee and have nothing to do with what really counts, safety reliability and service. Turkish Airlines Europes best!!!....I think not..... but it does sum up how devalued this particular award is.
Well an airline can't be voted the worlds best if the passengers didn't enjoy their experience, obviously. From what i have heard BA isn't a particularly reputable airline nor do i know what Garuda is like but this doesn't mean that their ratings are invalid. But what does this have to do with Skyteam airlines being in the top ten, Korean Air seems like a fairly reputable airline alongside others, so why is it not in the top ten?
I understand that Garuda are not allowed to fly to the UK or possibly the EU on safety grounds, hardly puts them in the same league as BA.
Binman is right that Skytrax awards go to those that pay the highest fees. What creedance can you give to a "survey" that does not take into account the safety of an airline.
It has been said before on this forum that the Skytrax awards are meaningless. At least with BT awards you do get to vote.
NTarrant - Garuda flies on a daily basis from Jakarta to Amsterdam (with a stop in Dubai).
Emirates at 10 was a bit of surprise!
what was the criteria of the vote again?
Who cares anyway? The ratings on Skytrax are flawed, we all know that but after all, you fly with the airline that you like, not the one that wins a dubious award. If you have to fly on an airline that you've not used before, ask for opinions here in the forum. There are plenty of frequent travellers here who are just itching to give you their opinion of anything under the sun ..
Turkish have really upped their game over the last twelve months or so and they rate very well against other European carriers, certainly way ahead of IB, AZ, SK, LO, OA, AF, KL, and the eastern European carriers. It's good to see them recognised.
Remember, these awards are voted for...
With regard to creedance, see below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8RXqk_RETE
With regard to credence, I'd share Binman's and NTarrant's reservations.
Garuda used to be on the EU blacklist, but came off it a while ago (2009 IIRC.)
QR worlds best. As a QR FF, Gold for 5 years now flying them Long haul to Asia every month I agree with the results,
its all subjective tho, depending on what you want and what status you are with an airline as well.
Well, Stevescoots, QR 777s might be worth 5 stars, but QR 330s certainly not! And many European cities are only served by QR 330s... And Doha airport is a nightmare...
In general, I only trust a ranking when I know the criteria. And when the results make sense. Skytrax' results are a joke. For instance:
- LH and LX in the same league: ridiculous. I criticise a lot LX as you could have read elsewhere but still they are far superior to LH
- China Southern: 4 stars? I doubt
- QR better than EY? Certainly not!
- TG, with their old seats, in the same league than BA? Another joke
- KLM a 3 stars? They probably forgot to write their cheque
And there are many other examples...
DoS - are you Keith or the lady in pink??
Creedance is being given through this thread. No such thing as bad publicity!!
There are only 20-30 active participants in BT forum - although all of them are well travelled - but please recognize that there are millions of other travellers (both business and economy) and each has his/her own opinion. Skytrax survey is based on travellers feedback. Even with some bias - this survey generally reflect the rank based on worldwide travellers feedback. Similary other surveys could be biased depending on geographical location of the most travellers.
For the BA lovers (I am one of them), it is sad to note that it is not in top ten - however as I travelled at least 3 airlines from the top 10 list recently - it is easy to see why they are better than BA.
I feel there is a kind of love & hate relationship between British people and BA. This leads to mixed feelings and probably somewhat a biased rating.
Skytraxs surveys depend on how the airlines promote their services. If my memory serves, I've never received a request by BA for instance (I am travelling a lot with them) to vote for them. Now QR is harassing me during the voting time, because their communication heavily depends on the 5 stars. Another bias in the sample relies in the lack of experience (not able to compare) many travellers have.
If Michelin (the guides) was asking anyone to rate restaurants, I doubt the ranking will be what it is...
SwissDiver, I did say it was subjective :)
I have only flown QR ex UK to Asia, yes its the 777 out to doha, after that its a mix of Airbus but all teh planes I have been on in the past 3 years have new or refits. As for Doha terminal, again i have only used the premium terminal, i have heard compliants about the standard one but tehy just opened a new terminal so woudl think that would improve economy class performance.
The comment about love hate relationship with BA, I agree i would love to be proud of our flag carrier, unfortunatly I cannot, they are not outstanding, average would sum them up.
Dear Binman,
I personally think GA deserve the 4 star rating, considering their short haul flights are better than any European airlines I had flown with, at least they offer real food (for both domestic and international) rather than sandwiches and AVOD on their short haul international flight. Never tried their long haul although I heard lots of positive feedbacks from friends and colleagues. Also, I checked a couple of trip review about their new product and looks quiet good as well.
http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/191857/
and in regard to Skytrax, I think SQ or CX deserve it more than QR.
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