Aer Lingus has been named in the top 40 airlines in the world

Good news for the Irish airline but there's a new number one.

Aer Lingus have been named among the best airlines in the world after they were ranked 36th Skytrax, the international air transport rating organisation. They also received an excellent four-star rating from the prestigious and wide-reaching survey. This represents progress for the Irish airline as they jump two places in overall ranking. Ryanair also made the top 100 list, they ranked at 64. In terms of the overall winner, Singapore Airlines overtook Qatar Airways as the world's best airline. ANA All Nippon Airways, Emirates and EVA Air comprise the rest of the top 5. Other notable accolades include China Southern Airlines winning the World’s Most Improved Airline, continued success for Garuda Indonesia being named the World’s Best Cabin Crew, and Qatar Airways as the World’s Best Business Class. With regards to the methodology used, Skytrax are the world's largest, annual airline passenger satisfaction survey. The focus of the survey is for customers to make their own, personal choices as to which airline they consider to be the best, underlining the brand as the Passenger's Choice Awards. In terms of the main criteria examined, there's three topics; cabin service, ground/airport, and onboard product. Here's the top 10 in full:

1. Singapore Airlines
2. Qatar Airways
3. ANA All Nippon Airways
4. Emirates
5. EVA Air
6. Cathay Pacific Airways
7. Lufthansa
8. Hainan Airlines
9. Garuda Indonesia
10. Thai Airways