APEX EXPO 2025: Ten Airlines Celebrate Winning Prestigious APEX World Class™ Awards
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During an awards ceremony at the Long Beach Convention Center on the final night of the 2025 APEX EXPO, airlines, suppliers and media gathered together to celebrate the reveal of the ten 2026 APEX World Class™ airlines.
Launched in 2021 in collaboration between APEX and YATES+, APEX World Class™ is a rigorous airline recognition program based on an audit by industry professionals across twenty dimensions within four key constructs: Safety & Well-being, Sustainability, Service–Guest Experience, and F&B Execution. The audits are validated by academic experts, and benchmarked against one year of guest ratings and NPS analysis.
The 2026 APEX World Class Airlines are: ANA, Emirates, Fiji Airways, Japan Airlines, Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Saudia, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines and Xiamen Airlines.
The ceremony also recognized each airline that had been “best in class” across the audit’s aforementioned four key constructs. Japan Airlines received best in class for Safety & Well-being; Saudia received best in class for Service–Guest Experience; and Turkish Airlines received best in class for both Sustainability and F&B Execution.
Each attending airline was invited to the stage to be congratulated by both APEX Group CEO Dr. Joe Leader and BBC News Anchor Ben Thompson, who asked questions about how it felt to win the award and what it meant.
It was an especially proud moment for Fiji Airways CEO André Viljoen, who earlier in the week during his CEO keynote had revealed that the carrier had been working towards APEX World Class™ recognition solidly for the past 18 months. It is the smallest airline by fleet size to have gained the award.
“It’s a very emotional moment for all the staff at Fiji Airways and the country, to put ourselves on the world stage against the giants is an enormous achievement, and we’re very proud and also very humbled,” Viljoen commented. “So how did we do it? […] We have game-changing strategies that we drive, and one of them was to become World Class. And we’re here!”
At the other end of the scale, Thompson asked Turkish Airlines SVP Marketing Omer Faruk Sonmez how the carrier is aiming to maintain such a high level of service once it becomes the largest in the world in terms of fleet size (it is targeting 800 aircraft by 2033, when it will celebrate its 100th anniversary. Sonmez responded, “It is constant training and keeping your staff members motivated to be able to deliver the best possible service levels.
“Our commitment remains clear: delivering your world class service on every single flight that we operate […] That is not going to change,” he continued. “Across more than 100 touch points, we listen to our travelers, […] we learn from them. We keep improving, we keep investing. And that’s how you keep continuing to win awards like this.”
Emirates SVP IFE & Connectivity Patrick Brannelly said he is delighted to see the whole industry raising its game. He explained, “The biggest competition in the airline industry, I always say, is people not flying. And the more that we as an industry make flying better, the more people will want to fly. And it’s a tremendous privilege to be able to fly around the world and be treated with brilliant service by brilliant people, and long may it last and get better and better and better.” Emirates also received the 2026 APEX Best™ Global Entertainment Award for its ice in-flight entertainment solution.
All Nippon Airways EVP Customer Experience Keiji Omae used the spotlight to highlight upcoming changes to the carrier’s passenger experience with the launch of its new business-class seating product, THE Room FX, which also won the 2026 APEX/IFSA Innovation Award for Best Cabin. “This cabin product innovation, integrated with renowned Japanese service quality, will redefine the flying experience for even more passengers,” he stated.
Saudia Chief Guest Experience Officer Rossen Dimitrov was delighted to receive the award, which he believes will further the carrier’s mission to bring the world to Saudia Arabia, and bring Saudi Arabia to the world, something he discussed earlier on in the week during a keynote speech shared with flyadeal CEO Stephen Greenway.
“What sets the APEX/IFSA Awards apart comes from how our awards program moves beyond recognition; it actively drives excellence across our entire industry,” APEX/IFSA Group CEO Dr. Joe Leader stated.
“Unlike other award platforms, these honors reflect both the voices of millions of global passengers and the rigorous assessments of independent experts. This powerful combination establishes the APEX/IFSA Awards as the most trusted and impactful distinction in aviation today, one that champions innovation, elevates service, and accelerates the pursuit of a world-class passenger experience.”
See more photos from the awards ceremony at the 2025 APEX/IFSA Global EXPO in Long Beach, California. To find out more about all the awards presenting during the ceremony, read the official press release.
