The airline which features the Middle Earth and its denizens in its advertising campaigns and holiday vacations has been selected as the Airline of the Year by a popular airline rating agency. Air New Zealand has scooped this award for the second successive year. An Australia-based agency awarded the top rank to the airline for its trendsetting in-flight advancements, operational safety, in-flight technology enhancements and focus on the environment. The airline was also praised for the staff motivation and their outstanding efforts.

The 75-year-old national flag carrier of New Zealand has also been conferred with the Best Premium Economy Class Award. Geoffrey Thomas, Editor-in-Chief for the ratings website applauded the airline for its excellent customer service and fiscal management. He commented that Air New Zealand is an epitome of the airline offerings despite its location and the size of the country. The editorial team of the agency also heaped praise on the two award-winning seat designs for long-haul flights, Spaceseat for Premium Economy and Skycouch for Economy Class Passengers.

Christopher Luxon, CEO of Air New Zealand praised the 11,000 staff members for their "outstanding efforts" to bring this airline to its top position.

Qantas also received multiple awards for Best Catering, Best Domestic Service and Best Lounges. The airline also received an honorable mention for its safety record.

Etihad Airways received the second rank followed by Cathay Pacific. Etihad won the Best First Class award while Emirates on 5th rank received the Best In-Flight Entertainment award. Cathay Pacific received the Best Business Class award while the winner for Best Economy Class was Thai Airways. Virgin Australia received two awards for the Best Cabin Crew and inaugural Best New World Carrier.

The agency conferred Etihad for Middle East/Africa, Lufthansa for Europe, EVA Air for Asia/Pacific and Lan Chile for Americas with the Best Long Haul Airline award.

The Best Low Cost Airline also has multiple winners including JetBlue for Americas, Kulula for Middle-East/Africa, Scoot for Asia/Pacific and Norwegian Air for Europe. These airlines received this award for best value proposition.