Worlds Best Airlines 2013: Emirates Voted Number One in Skytrax World Airline Awards

Emirates has been voted the world's best airline by passengers in the annual Skytrax World Airline Awards. The Awards are determined by millions of passengers in 160 countries, 18.2 million passengers to be exact. The airlines are judged on a variety of criteria including cabin cleanliness, in-flight food and service. The Dubai based carrier, Emirates took top spots in 2001 and 2002 and is back at the top this year.

Emirates President Tim Clark said to CNN Travel,

"We've got 200 aircraft, 18,000 cabin crew and ground staff," he explained, admitting that with 200 aircraft and 18,000 cabin crew and ground staff the company's operations were "not easy, but you work hard at what you're doing, you deliver to people's expectations, and hopefully exceed those expectations."

Cathay Pacific won for best cabin crew and Air Asia won for the best low cost carrier.

John Slosar, CEO of Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific said to CNN Travel, "We work very hard to make sure it's all about the team, not about individuals. We teach our crew not to just follow the rules, but to express themselves through their work, to offer service straight from the heart."

Skytrax World Airline Awards were established in 1999 and they are compiled from passenger surveys.

Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways, which came in as the number two airline overall said on the Skytrax website,

These awards are highly rewarding as they are judiciously voted by passengers a true account of the overall experience felt by customers who have travelled with the airline. A notable highlight is that these accolades reflect every touch point for our premium and economy class passengers through our ground service and inflight experience. We would thank our passengers for their continued support choosing to fly with Qatar Airways.

See the results below:

World Top 10 Airlines

1 Emirates

2 Qatar Airways

3 Singapore Airlines

4 ANA All Nippon Airways

5 Asiana Airlines

6 Cathay Pacific Airways

7 Etihad Airways

8 Garuda Indonesia

9 Turkish Airlines

10 Qantas Airways