Malaysia Airlines staff named best in Asia, cabin crew at global 3rd place

The airline has also climbed six places to 21st in the World’s Best Airline category, marking further progress in its transformation supported by continued investment across its people, product, fleet, network and customer offerings. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin

First Published: Saturday, 19 Sep 2026 9:00 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 — Malaysia Airlines has been named Best Airline Staff in Asia at the 2026 Skytrax World Airline Awards with its cabin crew earning a place among the top three in the World’s Best Airline Cabin Crew category, rising five places from eighth in 2025.

The airline has also climbed six places to 21st in the World’s Best Airline category, marking further progress in its transformation supported by continued investment across its people, product, fleet, network and customer offerings.

Malaysia Airlines also achieved strong results across several other categories at this year’s awards.

The airline climbed from sixth to second in the World’s Best Airport Services category and made its debut at 18th in the World’s Best Business Class Airlines category.

It also advanced four places to 12th in World’s Best Economy Class Airlines, up from 16th in 2025, and moved up to 11th in World’s Cleanest Airline from its previous 12th spot.

The airline also retained its place among the Top 10 Best Airlines in Asia, with a 10th spot ranking this year.

Malaysia Aviation Group president and group chief executive officer Captain Nasaruddin A Bakar said: “This recognition reflects the collective efforts of our people across the airport, onboard and behind the scenes, who come together every day to deliver Malaysian Hospitality throughout the customer journey.

“Reaching this milestone after years of consistently climbing the global rankings is a significant achievement for our national carrier and a direct reward for our team’s relentless effort,” he said in a statement today.

He said it is the spirit of warm, thoughtful and consistent service that sets the Malaysia Airlines experience apart.

The statement said Malaysia Airlines is continuing to develop its broader product and onboard proposition while expanding its network to provide customers with greater choices and connectivity.

“Fleet renewal remains an important part of this, with 29 new aircraft received to date and plans to build a fleet of 117 modern aircraft by 2035. This will add to capacity to support network growth.

“This is complemented by a continued focus on operational performance, with on-time performance

averaging 91.38 per cent year-to-date, which is consistently above target,” it said.

These developments form part of MAG’s long-term business plan 3.0, which sets out Malaysia Airlines’ ambition to be ranked among the top 10 global airlines by 2030. — Bernama