Emirates adds another ‘Best International Airline’ award to its portfolio of awards | News
Emirates has once again scooped a host of awards this month, including ‘Best International Airline’, ‘Best International First Class’ and ‘Best International Airline Lounge’ from the Forbes Travel Guide Verified Air Travel Awards, as well as a host of titles from entities such as the World Travel Awards, The Times and Sunday Times Travel Awards, and the Conde Nast Readers’ Choice Awards.
For the second year in a row, Emirates has been voted Best International Airline by 9,000 frequent flyers in the hospitality industry, including luxury travel advisors and inspectors from Forbes Travel Guides. The results have been validated using a star rating system. Forbes explained why Emirates was selected as the ‘Best International Airline’.
‘The secret to the Dubai-based airline’s success is that it continually refines every aspect of the passenger experience. For example, Emirates recently introduced a lavish lounge-style check-in area for its First Class and Skywards Platinum members, and is the first autism-certified airline, with more than 30,000 cabin crew and ground staff trained to support travelers with autism.”
Echoing the same sentiment, Emirates was named ‘Best Long-Haul Airline’ at The Times and The Sunday Times Travel Awards 2025 – cast based on 900,000 reader votes. This award was given to Emirates for its ‘cabin crew service, first-class suites (including showers) and fleet of spacious Airbus A380s.’ The Times also noted that Emirates continues to expand its footprint and has “connected the Middle East with five new destinations this year, including Shenzhen in southern China” and “Siem Reap, the entry point to Cambodia’s Angkor Wat complex.”
Emirates also recently scored a score of 87.86 in the Conde Nast Readers’ Choice Awards Best Airline Category, and also won the title of Leading Aviation Brand in the Middle East at the regional final of the World Travel Awards 2025.
Emirates takes first place for its First Class, spread across multiple awards
Emirates is the world’s largest provider of international First Class travel, offering 26,800 seats per week and the industry’s largest selection of international First Class seats, consisting entirely of private suites. At the recent Forbes Awards, Emirates also claimed ‘Best International First Class -Emirates First Class on the Boeing 777-300ER’ for its suites which offer ‘sky-high luxury: floor-to-ceiling doors, zero-gravity seats, Bulgari fragrances and food – ranging from movie snacks to caviar’, as well as ‘extras such as chauffeured transfers, a service that helps passengers quickly navigate connections in Dubai and access airport lounges’.
Emirates has been awarded the title of ‘Best International Airline Lounge’ by Forbes for its First Class Lounge in Dubai, which ‘offers everything a traveler needs and more: delicious dishes ranging from baked John Dory to 72-hour braised beef ribs, a cigar bar, bar, shower spas, a complimentary 15-minute spa treatment and plenty of places to rest or work. Perhaps the best benefit is the convenient, direct boarding from the lounge.”
Emirates also won a number of awards for its First Class offering at the regional finals of the World Travel Awards 2025 – the Middle East’s premier airline – First Class and the Middle East’s premier airline lounge – First Class.
Earlier in 2025, Emirates was honored with several awards, including Best Long-Haul Airline at The Telegraph Travel Awards, 2025’s Most Rated Global Brand by YouGov, and multiple categories at the Business Traveler Middle East Awards, such as Best Airline Worldwide for the 12th consecutive year, Best First Class, Best Premium Economy Class and Best Airport Lounge in the Middle East. In addition, Emirates Skywards was named the Best Global Airline Loyalty Program at the International Loyalty Awards 2025 and the top airline rewards program at the World Travel Awards Middle East.
