Thai Airways has climbed to 20th place in the 2026 Skytrax World Airline Awards, gaining nine positions from last year and recording its strongest overall result in the passenger-voted ranking since 2019.
The latest World’s Top 100 Airlines list, announced in London on September 18, placed Singapore Airlines first, followed by Qatar Airways and Cathay Pacific Airways. ANA All Nippon Airways and Turkish Airlines completed the top five, while Thai Airways finished 20th, immediately behind Swiss International Air Lines and ahead of Malaysia Airlines.
Thai Airways’ move from 29th in 2025 to 20th this year was also the largest rise among airlines finishing inside the 2026 top 20.
The national carrier performed strongly in several other Skytrax categories. It ranked ninth among airlines in Asia, 10th for cabin crew worldwide and ninth for airline staff in Asia. Thai Airways also placed seventh for airport services and 15th in the overall economy class ranking.
Thai Airways climbs back towards earlier rankings
The 2026 result continues a steady rise through the Skytrax tables after Thai Airways fell well outside the global top 20 earlier this decade.
Thai Airways ranked 13th in 2016 before moving to 11th in 2017 and reaching 10th in both 2018 and 2019. When the rankings returned in 2021, the airline was 23rd, before falling to 46th in 2022.
Since then, it has moved upwards each year, climbing from 40th in 2023 to 33rd in 2024, 29th last year and 20th in 2026. That represents an improvement of 26 places from its 2022 position and puts the carrier back inside Skytrax’s top 20 for the first time since 2019.
The Skytrax result comes less than a month after Thai Airways placed 10th in Travel + Leisure‘s separate World’s Best Awards 2026 international airline ranking. The two results come from different passenger surveys and methodologies, so their positions are not directly comparable.
Thailand also had another airline inside Skytrax’s global top 30. Bangkok Airways moved from 31st last year to 29th in 2026 and was again named World’s Best Regional Airline and Best Regional Airline in Asia. The carrier said it has now won both regional honours for 10 consecutive award years, stretching back to 2016.
How the Skytrax ranking works
The World Airline Awards, organised by Skytrax since 1999, are based on an annual passenger satisfaction survey rather than judging by an industry panel.
For the 2026 awards, passengers from more than 100 nationalities rated over 300 airlines across areas including check-in, staff service, seat comfort, cleanliness, meals, entertainment and value for money.
Skytrax says the survey is independently funded, with airlines not paying to enter and respondents receiving no rewards.
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- Thai Airways brings back nonstop Bangkok to Amsterdam flights after 28 years
- Deaf passenger praises Thai Airways crew’s clever menu
The story Thai Airways gains altitude in Skytrax global ranking as seen on Thaiger News.