Emirates wins a regional APEX award following strong passenger ratings across five categories.
Dubai: Emirates has been named Best Overall Airline in the Middle East at the 2026 APEX Best in Airline Awards, after passengers gave the Dubai carrier high ratings for comfort, service, food, entertainment, and connectivity.
The award was announced at a ceremony in Dublin, Ireland, where Emirates was recognised for its customer experience across five key areas. The ratings were based on verified passenger feedback assessing seat comfort, cabin service, food and beverage, inflight entertainment, and Wi-Fi connectivity.
Passengers rated Emirates across five key areas, with the airline scoring highly for seat comfort on its Airbus A380, Airbus A350, and Boeing 777 fleet. Emirates is also advancing its fleet retrofit programme, upgrading cabins across Economy, Premium Economy, Business Class, and First Class.
From October, Economy Class passengers will receive new Safran Z400 seats featuring an adjustable eight-way headrest. Premium Economy will offer wider cream leather seats with greater recline, leg and footrests, charging ports, and a 13.3-inch screen.
Business Class seats on the Airbus A350 convert into fully lie-flat beds and feature enhanced privacy, wireless charging, mood lighting, storage space, and minibar-style amenities. First Class includes fully enclosed suites with electronic doors, climate control, ambient lighting, and lie-flat beds.
Food, service and entertainment
Emirates said its cabin crew represent more than 140 nationalities and speak over 70 languages, with a service approach focused on excellence, attentiveness, innovation, and passion.
Food and beverage offerings were also part of the passenger ratings, with Emirates providing multi-course meals, children’s meals, special dietary options, and cabin-specific dining experiences.
Premium Economy meals are served on Royal Doulton china, while Business Class passengers enjoy multi-course menus paired with premium beverages. First Class offers dine-on-demand service, along with unlimited caviar and a Movie Snacks Menu.
Emirates also highlighted its ice entertainment system, which provides more than 6,500 channels, including films, TV shows, music, podcasts, documentaries, children’s content, live news, and sports.
Starlink rollout continues
Connectivity was another key factor in the award. Emirates is progressively rolling out Starlink across its active fleet, with full installation expected by mid-2027.
The airline said 33 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft have already been equipped with Starlink, while the first three Airbus A380s have begun operating with the system onboard.
The free service enables passengers to stream, browse, work, make video calls, and access social media during flights.
