The world's favourite airlines for 2026 have been revealed - here's who won

More than 40,000 flyers just settled the ultimate aviation debate, crowning the world's most favoured airlines for 2026, in a vote that proves passenger loyalty runs deep.

Flyers from around the world voted in the 2026 Flyers' Choice Awards, an annual program by Airline Ratings, that recognises the airlines that travellers rate most highly.

Qantas was back on top as the preferred airline in Australia and the Pacific, followed by Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia.

Qantas also excelled in the airline that gave the greatest peace of mind when flying category, coming in at number two after Singapore Airlines, and followed by Etihad Airways.

This category was given the most importance in the ranking, with the top-seven named instead of only the top-three.

Rounding out the list were Emirates at number four, followed by Air New Zealand, airBaltic and Cathay Pacific.

Airline Ratings CEO, Sharon Petersen, said it was notable to see Qantas perform so strongly.

"Qantas receives a considerable amount of negative coverage, but when you take the media narrative out of the equation and simply ask passengers to vote for the airline they prefer, the result is very telling," Petersen told Explore.

"Ultimately, it is the travelling public that gets to have the final say."

Another hotly-contested category was favourite low-cost carrier, with VietJet Air taking the winning position, followed by AirAsia, and Jetstar and Easyjet tying for third place with only one vote separating them.

Around the world, British Airways won preferred UK and Europe airline, Emirates was the favourite airline in the Middle East and Africa, and Delta won in USA and Canada.

In North East Asia, Cathay Pacific was the favourite, Singapore Airlines won voters hearts in Central and South East Asia, and LATAM won in South and Central America.

Petersen said the awards were "a popularity vote", so it wasn't surprising the larger airlines with bigger networks tended to come out on top.

However one Pacific airline was worthy of a special mention.

Petersen said the "continued strong performance" of Air New Zealand was "particularly significant".

"It isn't one of the world's largest airlines, yet it continues to rank strongly, including in best economy and, especially importantly, greatest peace of mind."

Middle Eastern airlines continued to perform strongly.

"The results weren't vastly different from last year's, meaning that passenger sentiment remains largely unchanged and the dominance of airlines like Emirates, Qatar and Singapore Airlines is only again clearly shown," Petersen said.

Qatar Airways was voted first preference in business class followed by Emirates and Singapore Airlines.

Singapore Airlines was our favourite economy class with Emirates and New Zealand following.

The premium economy gong went to Emirates, then Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand.

When it came to voter comments, some stood out.

"One strong theme was service, particularly in relation to the Philippine airlines, where passengers repeatedly highlighted the quality and warmth of the service," Petersen said.

"In the Greatest Peace of Mind category, one comment that stood out was the familiar 'Qantas never crashes' sentiment.

"That line, which originated with the film Rain Man, has become deeply embedded in popular culture and it is fascinating to see that message still resonating with travellers today. It demonstrates just how powerful and enduring an airline's safety reputation can be."

The Flyers Choice Awards are now in their second year, and Petersen said patterns had already begun to show.

"What I find most fascinating about these results is that passengers don't vote with spreadsheets - they vote with memories. They vote for the airline they remember treating them well, the one they felt comfortable and safe on, or the one that simply made a journey better. That is why I think the results are so revealing," she said.

She said smaller airlines like Air New Zealand performing well showed "you can buy advertising and you can build a huge network, but you can't buy that kind of passenger loyalty".