Dubai-based Emirates was named as the world's best airline, according to the annual airline ratings published by SkyTrax.
The awards -- decided by 18.2 million passengers in 160 countries around the world -- judge airlines on everything from the cleanliness of the cabin to the quality of the in-flight food and entertainment, CNN reported.
Emirates debut prize in 2001, and retained it in 2002, before missing out on the top spot for a decade.
The Skytrax World Airline Awards were established in 1999.
They are compiled from the world's largest airline passenger satisfaction survey -- responses to questionnaires in English, Spanish, Chinese and Russian, CNN reported.
Emirates President Tim Clark tells CNN that running an award-winning operation with "200 aircraft, 18,000 cabin crew and ground staff (is) not easy, but you work hard at what you're doing, you deliver to people's expectations, and hopefully exceed those expectations."
The top 10 in SkyTrax's 2013 World Airline Awards were:
1. Emirates
2. Qatar Airways
3. Singapore Airlines
4. All Nippon Airways (ANA)
5. Asiana Airlines
6. Cathay Pacific
7. Etihad
8. Garuda Indonesia
9. Turkish Airlines
10. Qantas
"We operate these Awards on a not-for-profit basis, and apply rigorous monitoring to the survey process, guaranteeing that there is no outside influence or airline involvement," Edward Plaisted, SkyTrax's executive who heads the awards, says in a statement.
"The reputation of these awards relies on our ability to maintain transparency across the survey and awards format," he adds. "We know that some Award winning airlines are not the favorite of everyone, and we receive vocal feedback and complaints from a few users each year when results are published. However, we can do no more than remind them that Award winning airlines are decided by their fellow airline customers, and not by Skytrax."
