KM Malta Airlines rated fifth best airline in industry survey

The national airline has been voted the fifth best airline in the world in a recent industry survey.

KM Malta Airlines came fifth overall in this year's edition of the AirHelp Global Airline Ranking, which rated 117 airlines across the world on punctuality, customer feedback and the processing of claims.

Malta’s national airline came second for ‘on-time performance’, and ninth for ‘claim processing’, but dropped further down the list for ‘customer opinion’, coming in 93rd place.

Its overall score was 7.85 (out of 10) in total, behind Quantas (7.99), Virgin Atlantic (8.03), UAE carrier Etihad Airways (8.07) and Qatar Airways, which came first overall with a score of 8.16.

According to its website, AirHelp selects the airlines used in the ranking from a list of 800 operators worldwide, selecting the “biggest in terms of passenger numbers and popularity”.

It said it calculated punctuality by analysing flight data from October last year to the end of September this year, with customer feedback determined by “hundreds” of surveys asking passengers about cabin crew, aircraft comfort and cleanliness, onboard food and entertainment.

The company – which commercially assists passengers in making claims – said it analysed data covering the likelihood of an airline paying out compensation, the volume of claims processed by an airline and “past and current claim processing behaviours” to determine an airline’s claims ranking.

KM Malta Airlines executive chairman David Curmi called the airline’s overall performance in the rankings, and its second place for punctuality, “two important milestones” for the company.

“This recognition reflects the dedication of our entire team and our commitment to delivering a high-quality experience every day”, he said.

The airline said the recognition highlighted continued investment at the firm, while underscoring its “focus on reliability and its strengthened support for passengers”.