Four Skytrax Wins and Wi-Fi Crown for Qatar Airways in 2026
Travelers flying across regional routes this season are seeing the payoff of a massive connectivity push, as Qatar Airways brings home a fresh haul of global aviation hardware.
The carrier picked up four major titles at the Skytrax World Airline Awards 2026, holding onto its coveted 5-star airline rating while grabbing a historic first-of-its-kind trophy for onboard connectivity.
The airline took home World’s Best Business Class for the thirteenth time and locked down Best Airline in the Middle East for the fourteenth time. On the ground, the carrier’s Al Mourjan Business Lounge took World’s Best Business Class Lounge for the eighth time, specifically highlighting its newest space, The Garden, which overlooks the airport’s indoor botanical area, The ORCHARD.
What really set the carrier apart this year was a brand-new category. Skytrax introduced an award for World’s Best Onboard Wi-Fi, and Qatar Airways became the first airline to win it. That win comes on the back of a widebody fleet rollout featuring Starlink connectivity, which the airline notes is now the largest of its kind in the industry. More than 25 million passengers have logged on across over 96,000 flights since the service kicked off.
Group Chief Executive Officer Hamad Al-Khater credited the airline’s roughly 60,000 staff for pulling off the wins through a tough operational year. The carrier also noted that its oneworld alliance partner was separately named World’s Best Airline Alliance for 2026.
Locally, the airline has backed up the hardware with schedule adjustments, boosting daily flights across the Middle East by 14% this winter season as it gears up to mark its thirtieth anniversary in 2027.
