Star Alliance - World's Best Airline Alliance at 2025 Skytrax Awards
The Star Alliance Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport Lounge also retained its title as the World's Best Airline Alliance Lounge – marking a second consecutive win since its inauguration in October 2023.
Marking the milestone, Star Alliance Chief Executive Officer Theo Panagiotoulias said: "This continued recognition is incredibly significant to all of us at Star Alliance. It reflects the trust millions of customers place in our member airlines, connected by a rhythm, to create smoother journeys every day."
Mr Panagiotoulias also congratulated the member airline employees across the network and continued: "This achievement reflects the shared commitment to excellence shown by every employee at Star Alliance and across our member airlines throughout a promising 2024. I proudly accept this honour on their behalf and encourage them to keep aiming higher in the year ahead and beyond."
The awards were presented at the Paris Air Show, held at the historic Le Bourget Airport. In addition to the two Alliance awards, 14 member airlines were also recognised with a total of 62 top honours in individual categories.
Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax said: "We are pleased to recognise Star Alliance as the World's Best Airline Alliance, and for having the Best Airline Alliance Lounge at Paris Charles de Gaulle. These awards speak to the alliance's continued efforts to create a joined-up experience that appeals to today's international passenger, both in the air and on the ground."
Known as the "Oscars of the aviation industry," the Skytrax World Airline Awards are based on millions of customer surveys from travellers around the world. This year's results reflect over 22 million eligible entries gathered between September 2024 and May 2025
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Issued by Air New Zealand Communications
Email: media@airnz.co.nz │ Phone: +64 21 747 320
About Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand's story started in 1940, first taking to the skies between Auckland and Sydney on a flying boat - a Short S30. Known for its warm Kiwi hospitality, today, the airline has operating aircraft ranging from Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and Airbus A320s to ATRs and Q300s, offering customers comfort in the latest most efficient jets and turboprops. It's a modern fuel-efficient fleet with an average age of 9.9 years. Air New Zealand's global network of passenger and cargo services centres around New Zealand. In 2024, the airline flew more than 16 million passengers. Air New Zealand was named 2025 World's Safest Airline by the Australian rating service AirlineRatings.com, highlighting the airline's laser-focus on safety.
Air New Zealand has a well-connected domestic business, connecting customers and cargo to 20 different regions around New Zealand. Internationally, the airline has direct flights to major cities across Australia, the Pacific Islands, Asia and North America, and through its strong relationships with alliance partners, offers customers more choice and convenience to connect further afield to hundreds of destinations. Air New Zealand has a particular focus on sustainability and its Sustainability Framework helps guide the airline's efforts in tackling some of New Zealand's and the world's most complex challenges. Airpoints, Air New Zealand's loyalty programme, is seen as the most valuable loyalty programme in New Zealand with more than 4 million members. It allows members to earn Airpoints Dollars™ and Status Points for VIP benefits in the air and on the ground. Air New Zealand aircraft are proudly identified by its distinct tail livery of the Mangōpare, the Māori symbol of the hammerhead shark which represents strength, tenacity, and resilience.
About Star Alliance
The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance, based on a customer value proposition of global reach, worldwide recognition and seamless service. Since inception, it has offered the largest and most comprehensive airline network, with a focus on improving customer experience across the Alliance journey.
The member airlines are: Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, THAI, Turkish Airlines, and United.
Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 16,000 daily flights to almost 1,200 airports in 186 countries. Further connecting flights are offered by Star Alliance Connecting Partners Juneyao Airlines and THAI Smile Airways.
For more information about Air New Zealand visit www.airnewzealand.com and for more information about Star Alliance visit www.staralliance.com