The 20 best airlines in the world

REUTERS/Jean Philippe Aries

• Singapore Airlines is the best airline in the world for 2018, according to a ranking by the consumer-aviation website Skytrax.
• The Singapore-based airline ranked in second place in 2017
• This the fourth victory for Singapore Airlines which also won in 2004, 2007, and 2008.
• Overall, airlines from Asia dominate the elite end of Skytrax's rankings - taking nine of the top 10 spots.

Singapore Airlines has been named the best airline in the world for 2018 by the leading consumer-aviation website Skytrax.

"Singapore Airlines is honored to be named World's Best Airline in the Skytrax awards, and I dedicate it to the 26,000 SIA Group employees who focus every day on delivering the world's best travel experience to our customers," Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong said in a statement. "The recognition will further motivate us to improve upon the three main pillars of our brand promise - product leadership, service excellence and network connectivity - to ensure we retain our competitive advantage and continue to meet and exceed customer expectations."

The Singapore-based airline was presented with the award on Tuesday at a ceremony in London.

This the fourth SIA has taken top honors at the World Airline Awards. The airline also won in 2004, 2007, and 2008.

Overall, airlines from Asia dominate the elite end of Skytrax's rankings - taking nine of the top 10 spots.

At the same time, no US airline cracked the top 35. Delta got the closest with a 37th place finish

The Skytrax rankings are based on the impressions of 20.36 million travelers from more than 100 different countries. The unpaid survey, which covered more than 335 airlines, measured 49 parameters ranging from boarding procedures to seat comfort to the quality of service.

Here are the 20 best airlines in the world, according to the results of the Skytrax survey: