Singapore Airlines has been named as the world's best airline as part of the Skytrax World Airline Awards.
In addition to being named best airline, Singapore's national carrier was recognised for its business services, picking up the Best Business Class award too.
"The jostle for Airline of the Year title was fairly constant throughout the survey period, and in particular the top five positions fluctuated on quite a regular basis," explained Edward Plaisted, the chief executive of Skytrax.
"I must in particular highlight the performance of the other top five airlines - Thai Airways taking second position (climbing from 4th in 2006), Cathay Pacific (a former winner of the title) ranked in 3rd place, Qatar Airways securing 4th position, and a new entrant to the Top Five group, with Qantas taking 5th position."
In the competitive low-cost carrier section, Australia's Jetstar Airways came out on top. Mr Plaisted commented: "For an airline that is just three years old, this is a fantastic achievement.
"Whilst customers may be looking for the best value fares and travel deals when selecting a low-cost airline, that does not of course suggest that the same customers' quality expectations from their trip should be any different."
In Europe, Air Berlin was cited as the best budget carrier on the continent. The UK's easyJet came in third.
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