Qantas rebounds from worst-ever performance to be named world’s 14th best airline in ranking
Qantas has rebounded from its worst-ever performance in the aviation industry’s annual awards to be named the world’s 14th best airline, after the national carrier’s reputation was badly damaged by a string of scandals during the pandemic.The national carrier climbed 10 spots in the 2025 Skytrax World Airline awards from its nadir of 24th place in 2024, after customers across more than 100 nationalities voted in the world’s largest airline passenger satisfaction survey.Qatar Airways was named the world’s best airline for the second consecutive year, which will benefit Qantas’s main domestic competitor, Virgin Australia, given it has just entered into a partnership with the Gulf carrier.Virgin recently entered a code-sharing agreement with Qatar, meaning there is now a second Australian carrier apart from Qantas that flies to the Middle East with a global network of connections beyond that.Qatar has been crowned the winner of the Skytrax awards nine times.
This year, Singapore Airlines came second and Cathay Pacific third, with Qantas’s international partner, Emirates, ranked fourth.The Japanese airline All Nippon Airways came fifth, followed by Turkish Airlines, which is expanding its offering into the Australian market with reported plans to fly from Sydney to Istanbul daily from 2026.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news emailQantas has been working hard to improve its optics after emerging from pandemic disruptions to post record multibillion-dollar profits amid widespread customer fury that precipitated the retirement of the airline’s long-term chief executive Alan Joyce.The beleaguered airline was beset by controversies including its illegal sacking of more than 1,800 baggage handlers resulting in a $120m compensation payout and a $100m federal court fine for misleading customers by allegedly selling tickets for flights it had cancelled.In August 2024, the Qantas board cut Joyce’s final pay packet by $9.
26m after a self-launched review into the airline’s governance found that “considerable harm” had been done under Joyce’s leadership,Dr Andrew Hughes, a marketing lecturer at the Australian National University, said Qantas’s rebound suggested its massive investment in its new customer experience program was paying off,He said “behind the scenes” he would expect the cost of the program to have been just under $1bn,Hughes said the program was the airline’s push to reverse a “lack of investment in their brand offering” during Joyce’s tenure at the helm by spending more on improving the customer experience,“They really had focused on a lot of publicity announcements about things like Project Sunrise,” Hughes said, referring to the airline’s plan to launch ultra-long-haul flights from eastern Australia to Europe and New York.
Sign up to Breaking News AustraliaGet the most important news as it breaksafter newsletter promotionQantas was contacted for comment.New measures included upgrades to the Qantas fleet, the refurbishment of its airport lounges, and dividing passengers into groups to smooth out the boarding process, Hughes said, all of which had contributed to the airline’s success in rebuilding customer perception.“The overall experience offering is still better than Virgin,” he said, although he believed the smaller airline would become “a lot more competitive” over the next five years, thanks to its code-sharing agreement with Qatar.Hughes said Qantas’s reputation had been “terrible” but he would expect the airline to continue to go up in the rankings as long as it managed its budget to continue to fund improvements.“It’s been a slow-build process to improve their branding,” he said.
“These are early signs they are on the right track.”However, he said there would be “some hiccups along the way”, pointing to the revamp of Qantas’s loyalty program.In January, the airline announced it was broadly increasing the amount of frequent flyer points needed to redeem Classic Reward flights, effectively lowering their value.“I don’t think many people realise just how many points they’re about to lose,” Hughes said.
José Pizarro’s recipe for broad bean and mint tortilla with a manchego crust
In Spain we say, “Habas en abril empiezan y en abril se acaban” – that is, broad beans begin in April and end in April. In the UK, the season starts a bit later, around June, so we’ve got a bit more time yet to enjoy them. Still, the season is short, so I use these wonderful beans as much as I can, while I can. This is the kind of dish I’d make on a quiet afternoon: simple, full of flavour, nothing fancy. Just a nice way to enjoy what the season gives you, before it disappears again for another year
Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for tandoori chicken skewers with coriander chutney | Quick and easy
I’ve been on a quest for the perfect tandoori marinade (without the E numbers or red food colouring) for years, and tweak my recipe on every repeat. This one is easily my favourite so far: the cloves lend a wonderful smokiness, and if you can pop the chicken in the marinade in the morning, it will have taken on an amazing depth of flavour by the evening. This would work just as well on a barbecue – just scale up the amount of chicken and the marinade ingredients as needed.You will need four large metal or bamboo skewers (if using the latter, soak them in water for half an hour first). Serve with flatbreads or naan, and shredded lettuce, if you wish
Pastry perfection: Anna Higham’s recipes for chicken and herb pie and foldover pissaladière
Warmer weather always has me dreaming of elaborate picnics, just like the ones my mum used to take us on as kids. She made superlative chicken pies, and I always think of them at this time of year. Mum would use shop-bought pastry, but here I’ve made a herby rough puff to up the summery feeling. The onion and anchovy turnovers, meanwhile, are the perfect pocket savouries to keep you going on a long walk or day out. You could always make one batch of pastry and halve the amount of both fillings, so you can have some of each
How to make chocolate chip cookies – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass
Once upon a time, not so long ago, the only so-called chocolate chip cookies on offer in the UK were, in fact, biscuits – small, brittle ones peppered with tiny, waxy, cocoa-coloured pellets. When I finally discovered the soft, chewy American originals in a subterranean outlet at Birmingham New Street station, my teenage mind was officially blown. These are even better.Prep 25 min, plus chilling Cook 15 min Makes 15120g room-temperature butter 170g dark chocolate 75g light brown sugar 75g granulated sugar ½ tsp vanilla extract A pinch of salt 1 egg, beaten240g plain flour ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda Sea salt flakes (optional)Make sure your butter is soft enough to beat – if your kitchen is very cold, or you’ve forgotten to get it out of the fridge in time, dice it and leave it out on the counter while you gather together the rest of the ingredients. I tend to use salted butter for baking, as for everything else, but it’s up to you
Ragù, Bristol BS1: ‘I recommend it wholly, effusively and slightly enviously’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants
Ragù is a cool, minimal, romantic ode to Italian cooking that’s housed in a repurposed shipping container on Wapping Wharf in waterside Bristol. No, come back, please – don’t be scared. There are tables, chairs, napkins, reservations and all the other accoutrements of a bricks-and-mortar restaurant, even if this metal box may at some point in its existence once have been used to ship things to China and back. To my mind, Wapping Wharf has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and no longer feels at all like one of those novelty “box parks” that have about them a heavy whiff of the edgy temporary fixture. Today’s Wapping Wharf is a true independent food destination in its own right, and with a bird’s-eye view from one of Ragù’s window seats, while eating venison rump with gorgonzola dolce and sipping a booze-free vermouth, you can watch the crowds head for the likes of the modern French Lapin, Tokyo diner Seven Lucky Gods, modern British Box-E, Gurt Wings and many more; by day, there’s also a bakery, a butcher, a fromagerie and so on
Raise a glass to National Beer Day: tips on the perfect pint
I didn’t write a Valentine’s Day column, I also didn’t do one for Mother’s Day, and I won’t be doing one for Father’s Day, either. Who am I to tell you how to enjoy your time with your most beloved – and who am I to tell you what they ought to be drinking, seeing as these days that’s invariably informed by gendered marketing and targeted campaigns?The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.I am, however, writing a column for National Beer Day on 15 June (the same as Father’s Day – yawn)
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