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The best airline staff in the world

September 02, 2014 19:48 IST

No matter where are you flying globally, here are the world’s most courteous, friendly, helpful and efficient airline crews from each continent.

The recently-held World Airline Award by Skytrax, ranked best airline staff in 10 different regions. We bring you the top three winners from each of them.

Air Astana

Rank in Central Asia and India: 1

Country: Kazakhstan

The airline is the principal airline and the flag carrier of Kazakhstan.

Indigo

Rank in Central Asia/India: 2

Country: India

India-based IndiGo Airlines operates as a low-cost carrier and is headquartered in Gurgaon.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Azerbaijan Airlines

Azerbaijan Airlines

Rank in Central Asia/India: 3

Country: Azerbaijan

It’s the flag carrier of Azerbaijan and is based in Baku.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Thai Airways

Thai Airways

Rank in Asia: 1

Country: Thailand

The flag carrier of Thailand is headquartered in Bangkok.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Garuda Indonesia

Garuda Indonesia

Rank in Asia: 2

Country: Indonesia

Headquartered in Jakarta, Garuda is the flag carrier of Indonesia.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific

Rank in Asia: 3

Country: Hong Kong (China)

Based in Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific flies to 68 destinations in 42 countries.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Oman Air

Oman Air

Rank in Middle East: 1

Country: Oman

The national airline of Oman, it was he first airline in the world to offer mobile services and Wi-Fi in-flight.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways

Rank in Middle East: 2

Country: Qatar

Headquartered in Doha and owned by the state, Qatar Airways flies to over 125 destination.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Emirates

Emirates

Rank in Middle East: 3

Country: UAE

The government owned airline operates in 78 countries and flies to over 142 cities.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Virgin Australia

Virgin Australia

Rank in Australia and Pacific: 1

Country: Australia

Formerly called as Virgin Blue, it’s co-founded by British businessman Richard Branson and former Virgin Blue CEO Brett Godfrey. From modest beginning in 2000, it is now the second largest airline in Australia.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Qantas

Qantas

Rank in Australia and Pacific: 2

Country: Australia

Qantas is Australia’s flag carrier and the second oldest airline in the world - founded in 1920.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand

Rank in Australia/Pacific: 3

Country: New Zealand

Based in Auckland, this is the national airlines of the country. It has domestic as well as international operations and flies to over 15 countries.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Austrian

Austrian

Rank in Europe: 1

Country: Austria

The flag carrier of the country, it is now a subsidiary of Lufthansa Group. It flies to over 130 destinations.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, KLM

KLM

Rank in Europe: 2

Country: Netherlands

KLM is the flag carrier of the Netherlands and is the oldest airline in the world.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines

Rank in Europe: 3

Country: Turkey

Headquartered in Istanbul, it is the flag carrier of the country. It operates in 41 domestic and 206 international airports.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, LAN Airlines

LAN Airlines

Rank in South America: 1

Country: Chile

The airline is part of LATAM Airlines group, which also owns TAM Airlines. It is also the flag carrier of the country.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, TAM Airlines

Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras

Rank in South America: 2

Country: Brazil

The flag carrier of Brazil, Azul flies to over 103 destinations.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Virgin America

TAM Airlines

Rank in South America: 3

Country: Brazil

Headquartered in Sao Paulo, it is the largest airline company is Brazil.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, WestJet

Virgin America

Rank in North America: 1

Country: US

Though brainchild of the British businessman Richard Branson; his companies own just 25 per cent in the company, as per the law of the US. The remaining 75 per cent stake is owned by the VAI Partners.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Porter Airlines

WestJet

Rank in North America: 2

Country: Canada

The Canadian low-cost carrier provides services to 90 destinations in 20 countries. It is also the second largest airline in its home country.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Avianca

Porter Airlines

Rank in North America: 3

Country: Canada

The regional airline flies to several destinations in Canada and the US. Most of its fleet has Bombardier aircraft.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Copa Airlines

Avianca

Rank in C America/Caribbean: 1

Country: Colombia

The flag carrier of Colombia, Avianca is the second largest airline in Latin America. Uit was registered in 1919 and the third oldest airline in the world, behind KLM.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Caribbean Airlines

Copa Airlines

Rank in C America/Caribbean: 2

Country: Panama

Based out of Panama City, this is the flag carrier of the country. It flies to over 30 countries covering 69 destination.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, South African Airways

Caribbean Airlines

Rank in C America/Caribbean: 3

Country: Trinidad and Tobago

It is the national airline of the country. Air Jamaica is now part of Caribbean Airlines after the latter acquired it.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Air Mauritius

South African Airways

Rank in Africa: 1

Country: South Africa

The flag carrier is the largest airline in South Africa and flies to 38 destinations globally.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Ethiopian Airlines

Air Mauritius

Rank in Africa 2

Country: Mauritius

The national carrier of Mauritius flies to over 26 destinations.

Air Mauritius was set up in June 1967. The airline had no aircraft at the beginning, and in January 1972, Air India started flying the Port Louis-Bombay-Port Louis run on Air Mauritius' behalf using Boeing 707 equipment; this was Air Mauritius' first route, according to Wikipedia.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Ethiopian Airlines

Ethiopian Airlines

Rank in Africa 3

Country: Ethiopia

The government-owned airlines is flag carrier and covers 80 destinations.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Hainan Airlines

Hainan Airlines

Rank in China: 1

Country: China

The largest privately-owned airline company operates on about 500 national and international routes.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, China Southern

China Southern

Rank in China: 2

Country: China

China Southern serves 193 destinations in 35 different countries worldwide. It is the fourth-largest airline in the world in domestic passenger traffic and the sixth-largest in scheduled domestic passenger-kilometres flown, according to Wikipedia.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Shenzhen Airlines

Shenzhen Airlines

Rank in China: 3

Country: China

The country’s fourth largest domestic carrier, Shenzhen operates in over 137 destinations. Other than the extensive domestic airports, it also flies to countries such as Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand.