Air New Zealand has been named Airline of the Year for 2020 by safety and rating website AirlineRatings.com, knocking last year's winner, Singapore Airlines, out of first place. The website holds annual 'Airline Excellence Awards,' which combine major safety and government audits with an analysis of fleet age, passenger reviews, profitability, investment ratings, product offerings and staff relations.

Air New Zealand took the top spot for 2020 for its "record-breaking performance, multi award-winning in-flight innovations, operational safety, environmental leadership and motivation of its staff." It also won the award for Best Premium Economy. According to AirlineRatings.com, the top ten airlines for 2020 are Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Virgin Atlantic, EVA Air, Qatar Airways and Virgin Australia.

For those looking for a luxury flight, Singapore Airlines won the award for Best First Class, while Qatar Airways took the gongs for Best Catering and Best Business Class. Qantas won Best Domestic Airline Service and Best Lounges, while Cebu Pacific won the accolade for Most Improved Airline and VietJet Air was the Best Ultra Low-Cost airline. Other big winners include Virgin Australia, which won Best Cabin Crew and Best Economy Class, and those planning long-haul flights might be interested to learn that Emirates was the winner of Best In-Flight Entertainment.

The awards also named the best low-cost airline in three regions: JetBlue in the Americas; Wizz in Europe, AirAsia/AirAsia X in Asia and the Pacific and Air Arabia in the Middle-East and Africa.