It should come as no great surprise that China Airlines that has once again received the nod for best Airline in north Asia by U.S. travel magazine, Global Traveler. Its fifth award in as many years also means the airline automatically qualifies for the “Quint Status Award” status, presented to all five-time category winners.

Taiwan’s largest airline has consistently demonstrated its commitment to customers comfort and satisfaction, with business travellers being particularly well catered for, recognised by a third win in the Best Business-Class Seat Design” section. No mean accolade for the worlds’ biggest domestic business travel market.

But is it a fair result? Hainan Airlines for example, has gone from strength to strength in recent years, showing vision with an ambitious expansion project – achieving notable success in the Australian market – a competitive business class and a genuine dedication to service, which has resulted in superior product. An overall success which is reflected by its appearance in Skytrax’s top ten airlines of 2017, a solid barometer for airline quality.

Another example is EVA Air, Taiwan’s other Airline, whose reputation has grown and grown in the last five years. So much so, that it has also entered the Skytrax top ten, where China Airlines is more than a little conspicuous by its absence.

However China Airlines is not resting on its laurels and is introducing ten 777 and fourteen A350 new aircraft, as well as continuing to optimize its global network, with the introduction of the Taipei-London route in December, boosting the Taipei-Sydney route to two flights a day,  and the Taipei-Brisbane-Auckland route to one flight a day plus the launch of non-stop flights between Taipei and Ontario in California, USA, in 2018 – all part of the push to build a larger and more comprehensive network.

The competition between the big Asian airlines continues to be an interesting one and though China Airlines certainly do deserve their fifth accolade from Global Traveler, with the Quint under their belt, who knows, maybe industry politics will allow for a new winner  in 2018.