Air New Zealand Named World's Top Airline; U.S. Carriers Shut Out

Yahoo Travel
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Air New Zealand cleaned up in AirlineRatings.com’s annual list. (Photo: Getty Images)

AirlineRatings.com has released its top 10 airlines list for 2015 — and U.S. air carriers were left at the gate.

Not a single American-based carrier made the annual list of airlines that “achieve a seven star safety rating and demonstrate leadership in innovation for passenger comfort,” according to the website.

Air New Zealand topped the list. And for the second year in a row, the Kiwi carrier won “Airline of the Year” in AirlineRatings.com’s Airline Excellence Award. It also won the “Best Premium Economy” category.

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Air New Zealand’s premium economy class was also tops. (Photo: Air New Zealand)

Etihad Airways placed second on the top 10 list, a big jump from its sixth-place finish last year. It also won “Best First Class.”

Cathay Pacific Airways, Qantas Airways, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, EVA Air, Lufthansa, All Nippon Airways, and British Airways round out the Top 10.

It was Lufthansa and British Airways’ first time in the top 10.

Related: The New Airline Seat That Turns Economy Into Business Class

Even though U.S.-based carriers were shut out of the top 10, one did manage to break through in AirlineRatings.com’s Airline Excellence Awards. jetBlue was named Best Low Cost Airline, along with Asia’s Scoot, Norwegian, and Kulula, which serves the Middle East/Africa.

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Representing for the U.S.: jetBlue was the only U.S.-based airline named in AirlineRatings.com’s annual list. (Photo: jetBlue/Facebook)

Here are the winners in the other categories:

Best Business Class: Cathay Pacific Airways

Best Economy Class: Thai Airways

Best Lounges: Qantas

Best Catering: Qantas

Best Domestic Service: Qantas

Best In-Flight Entertainment: Emirates

Best New World Carrier (for innovation): Virgin Australia

Best Cabin Crew: Virgin Australia

Best Long Haul Airline: Etihad, Eva Air, Lufthansa, Lan Chile

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