Two Canadian airlines just won big awards for stellar customer ratings

Air Canada and WestJet have just won prestigious international awards based on high passenger ratings.

The Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) 2026 Awards were presented Thursday night. It's a global airline award that's entirely based on neutral, third-party passenger feedback and insights gathered through APEX's partnership with TripIt, a travel-organizing app from Concur.

The 2026 awards include over one million flights that have been rated by passengers spanning over 600 airlines from around the world using a five-star scale.

Air Canada received an APEX Five-Star Global Airline Award for the sixth consecutive year. It's among a list of world-class airlines, including United Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Air France.

The carrier's onboard Wi-Fi sponsored by Bell was also ranked for the Best In-Flight Connectivity. In May, Air Canada introduced free Wi-Fi for Aeroplan members on several major routes.

"We remain committed to delivering the best possible experience every time a customer uses our website or digital app, or are seated onboard our aircraft," stated Michael Rousseau, president and chief executive officer of Air Canada.

WestJet received an APEX Four-Star Major Airlines Award. Small but mighty Canadian airline Porter received an APEX Four-Star Regional Airlines Award.

The APEX 2026 Awards are based on votes from over one million customers.

These accolades come after the Air Canada flight attendants' strike that resulted in hundreds of flights being cancelled by the airline.

A proposed class-action lawsuit was launched against the carrier in August, on behalf of Canadian travellers who were impacted by the strike-related flight cancellations.

Some Canadian customers were recently affected by a WestJet cyberattack in June. In August, the carrier revealed that "certain data was illegally obtained" from its system. That includes personal information on passengers' passports or other government-issued documents.

Last year, Porter Airlines took the top spot in the USA Today Readers' Choice Awards for Best Economy Class worldwide. It also had the lowest number of customer complaints among all Canadian carriers.