The international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax, has awarded Korean Air a 5-star rating in its 2025 World Airline Star Rating, marking its fifth consecutive year earning the achievement.

Founded over 30 years ago, Skytrax has become a globally recognised standard for airline excellence. Every year, it conducts a ranking of airlines on a 1-to-5-star scale based on comprehensive service evaluations, with only 10 carriers eligible for the 5-star distinction of the hundreds it appraises.

To properly assess Korean Air, three Skytrax auditors flew on seven of the airline’s routes, reviewing over 550 service elements from the whole passenger journey, including airport check-in, transit experience, cabin service, entertainment, seat comfort, and baggage handling.

Edward Plaisted, chief executive of Skytrax, said: “The certification of Korean Air with the highest 5-Star Airline Rating for 2025 is a testament to the consistent focus on delivering a high-quality passenger experience. This 5-Star Airline Rating confirms that Korean Air continues to excel in key areas such as cabin comfort, catering, and a very accomplished service delivery both onboard and on each flight.”

Korean Air received high marks for its intuitive website design, streamlined passenger experience, premium inflight dining options, expertly curated wine selection and convenient meal pre-ordering service. The airline was also recognized for its advanced entertainment offerings, comfortable seating across all cabin classes (First, Prestige and Economy) and exceptional cleanliness throughout the aircraft.

Korean Air’s cabin crew earned praise for their warm and professional service across all cabin classes. The airline also received high marks for its efficient service delivery, multilingual proficiency of crew members, and skillful handling of service complexities.

Korean Air has also been setting the standard for airline service quality both domestically and globally, becoming the first Korean carrier to receive consumer-centred management certification form the Korean Fair-Trade Commission in 2024.

As an established international airline that has been operating for more than five decades, Korean Air’s successful performance in the past few years continues to set a standard for other major carriers in the aviation industry.