Air New Zealand is flying high on Tuesday after being named the world's best airline for 2020.
The title was given out by Australian-based Airlinesratings.com, and sees the national carrier edge out last year's winner Singapore Airlines.
It's the sixth time Air New Zealand has won the award.
Factors leading to the airline winning the award included its record-breaking performance, multi-award-winning in-flight innovations, operations safety, environmental leadership and motivation of its staff, Airlinesrating.com said.
All airlines were judged by a panel of seven editors who made their decision using safety and government audits and based on 12 key criteria such as fleet age, passenger reviews, profitability, investment rating, product offerings and staff relations.
"In our analysis, Air New Zealand came out number one in most of our audit criteria, which is an outstanding performance when it’s up against carriers with more resources and scale on this same list of best airlines for 2020," said Airline Ratings editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas.
"Air New Zealand’s commitment to excellence in all facets of its business starts at the top with outstanding governance and one of the best executive teams in aviation through to a workforce that is delivering consistently to the airline’s strategy and customer promise."
Air New Zealand's acting chief executive Jeff McDowall said winning the award was a testament to the company's staff.
The airline also won best premium economy.
