Singapore Airlines Won Skytrax’s 2026 Crown, Two Places Ahead of Cathay Pacific. Cathay Beat It on Cabin Crew

Asia’s two great premium airlines split the 2026 World Airline Awards, and the split says more about each of them than the overall ranking does.

Singapore Airlines was named the World’s Best Airline for 2026 at the Skytrax ceremony in London on Sept. 18, its sixth win since the awards began in 1999. Cathay Pacific finished third for the second year running, behind Singapore and Qatar Airways.

But Cathay took the World’s Best Cabin Crew title from Singapore, which had held it in 2025. Across the 25 worldwide Skytrax rankings in which at least one of the two airlines placed, Singapore finished ahead in 16 and Cathay in 9.

Singapore Airlines vs Cathay Pacific: how the two crowns swapped

In 2025 the order at the top was Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific. Singapore took the cabin crew award that year, and Cathay was named the World’s Best Economy Class airline for the second year in a row.

In 2026 both titles changed hands. Singapore took economy from Cathay, plus the World’s Best Economy Class Onboard Catering award, and moved past Qatar to No. 1 overall. Cathay won cabin crew, with Singapore second and Malaysia Airlines third.

Skytrax ranks these lists on passenger surveys covering more than 300 airlines. So the swap is a verdict from travelers, not from an inspector: this year’s survey respondents rated Cathay’s crew higher.

That is a striking turn for Cathay. In May 2023 it dismissed three flight attendants after a passenger on a flight from Chengdu to Hong Kong accused them of mocking travelers who did not speak English. CEO Ronald Lam apologized publicly and cited a “zero tolerance” policy.

Three years later, Lam was in London collecting the cabin crew award. The EVA Air vs China Airlines matchup found a similar split in Taiwan, where the airline with the older fleet ranks far higher.

The 2026 Skytrax numbers, category by category

The measure here is each airline’s position in the 2026 worldwide Skytrax lists, which publish a top 10 or a top 20. A dash means the airline did not appear in that published list.

2026 Skytrax ranking (worldwide)	Singapore Airlines	Cathay Pacific	Ahead
World’s Best Airline	1	3	Singapore
Cabin crew	2	1	Cathay
Economy class	1	2	Singapore
Premium economy	3	4	Singapore
Premium economy seat	4	2	Cathay
Business class	2	3	Singapore
Business class seat	4	3	Cathay
Business class lounge	5	3	Cathay
Business class onboard catering	5	3	Cathay
First class	2	5	Singapore
First class seat	1	–	Singapore
First class lounge	5	1	Cathay
Inflight entertainment	2	3	Singapore
Cleanest airline	2	5	Singapore
Most family friendly	5	4	Cathay

The pattern is clear once the lists sit side by side. Singapore wins the headline cabin rankings: economy, premium economy, business and first, plus the food in economy and first and the KrisWorld entertainment system.

Cathay’s nine wins fall into three groups. Four are lounge lists at Hong Kong International Airport, covering both its first and business class lounges and their dining. Two are seats: business class and premium economy.

The other three are service. Beyond cabin crew, Cathay beat Singapore on business class onboard catering and on the family friendly ranking. In the Asia-only staff ranking, which scores airport and onboard staff together, Cathay placed second and Singapore fifth.

Neither airline won World’s Best Business Class or First Class outright. Those went to Qatar Airways, for the 13th time, and Air France. Our ranking of the best business class airlines covers that wider field.

Why Cathay’s seats and lounges beat Singapore’s in 2026

Cathay’s wins line up with the newest things it has built. The Wing, First, its flagship lounge in Hong Kong, reopened on April 22, 2026, after about 11 months closed for a redesign by the London studio StudioIlse.

Five months later it was named the World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge. Singapore’s own first class lounge at Changi placed fifth.

The seat win has the same source. Cathay’s new Aria Suite business class is going into its Boeing 777-300ER fleet, and InsideFlyer counted 18 of 30 jets converted, with 45 suites each, as of August 2026.

Singapore’s newest seats are mostly still on order. In November 2024 it announced a S$1.1 billion retrofit of 41 Airbus A350-900s, including its seven ultra-long-range A350-900ULRs, using the cabins designed for the delayed Boeing 777-9.

When SIA unveiled the next KrisWorld system on Oct. 22, 2026, it said the retrofitted A350s would enter service progressively from 2027, with the program finished by the end of 2030. Until then, Skytrax voters are rating Cathay’s new seat against Singapore’s current one.

Which airline to fly in 2027

For most travelers the overall ranking is the right guide. In economy, the cabin most people actually buy, Skytrax voters put Singapore first and Cathay second, so either is a safe pick, and our best economy class airlines list explains what separates them.

Cathay is the stronger choice if the lounge is part of the trip, or if you are flying business on a 777-300ER that already has the Aria Suite. Singapore is the stronger choice for first class, where its suite won the World’s Best First Class Seat and Cathay’s cabin finished outside the top 10 for seats.

Both airlines are spending to close their gaps. Cathay says it has committed about HK$150 billion to its fleet, cabins, lounges and digital services, up from the more than HK$100 billion it cited in 2025, and The Wing, Business is closing for its own renovation, with a reopening planned for 2027.

Singapore’s first retrofitted A350s are due from 2027, the year Boeing now targets for first 777-9 deliveries. That sets up the next round: Singapore’s new seats against Cathay’s crew, with the 2027 awards deciding whether people or hardware wins.