Dubai: Qatar Airways picked up four titles at the Skytrax World Airline Awards 2026, including a first-of-its-kind award for onboard Wi-Fi, while holding onto its 5-star airline rating.
The carrier won World’s Best Business Class for the thirteenth time and Best Airline in the Middle East for the fourteenth time, alongside World’s Best Business Class Lounge for the eighth time. It also became the first airline to win World’s Best Onboard Wi-Fi, a category Skytrax introduced this year.
The Wi-Fi award follows Qatar Airways’ rollout of Starlink connectivity across its widebody fleet, which the airline says is now the largest of its kind in the industry. The carrier said more than 25 million passengers have stayed connected on over 96,000 flights since the service launched.
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Qatar Airways wins best airline in the Middle East for the 14th time
The business class win centres on Qsuite, the airline’s flagship product built around private suites and a four-seat “Quad” configuration that lets passengers lower privacy panels to share a workspace or dining area. The lounge award went to Al Mourjan Business Lounge’s newest space, The Garden, which overlooks the airport’s indoor botanical area, The ORCHARD.
Group Chief Executive Officer Hamad Al-Khater credited the airline’s roughly 60,000 staff for the results, calling it a difficult year operationally. He also noted that oneworld, the alliance Qatar Airways belongs to, was separately named World’s Best Airline Alliance for 2026.
The Middle East win comes as Qatar Airways has expanded its regional schedule, with the airline saying it increased daily flights across the Middle East by 14% this winter season. The airline is preparing to mark its thirtieth anniversary in 2027.
Skytrax’s annual awards are based on a global passenger survey and are widely used as a benchmark across the airline industry, with the 5-star rating reserved for carriers meeting a set standard across service, product and staff performance.
