Gen Z’s most trusted and favourite airlines revealed at StudentUniverse annual awards

StudentUniverse, the world’s largest student and youth travel marketplace, has released the results of their annual survey where over 5000 Gen Z travellers were asked to rank their favourite airlines in the Australian market.

StudentUniverse, a subsidiary of Flight Centre Travel Group, is an online, one-stop travel agency that offers exclusive discounts on flights, hotels and other travel essentials to students and young adults.

The exclusive discounts are available as part of a membership model for those who have verified themselves as students using patented identification technology. This verification technology allows StudentUniverse to negotiate exclusive airfares and hotel rates from a global network of airline and accommodation partners.

StudentUniverse currently partners with Virgin Australia, Etihad, Emirates, LATAM Airlines, Cathay Pacific, China Southern and many others to provide students with dynamic discounts with up to 30% off market fares.

Each year StudentUniverse surveys their regional databases to discover what the top airlines are for young people across several categories, including ‘best value airline’, ‘most trusted airline’ and ‘best overall airline’.

Young Australian travellers voted for QANTAS as the ‘most trusted airline’ with 24 per cent of the vote as well as the ‘best domestic airline’ with a 44 per cent share. Virgin Australia and then Jetstar were respectively second and third in the domestic airline category.

Steven de Blois, Global Managing Director at StudentUniverse, said: “This year’s results for ‘most trusted airline’ in the Australian market are welcome news for QANTAS given recent media stories, and show how the airline has never wavered in its focus on providing an exceptional service for Australian students and youth.”

Virgin Australia was voted ‘best service airline’ (18 per cent share of vote) with Jetstar in second place (16 per cent share of vote), followed by QANTAS (13 per cent share of vote). Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Rex were voted as the ‘best value airlines’.

When flying internationally, Gen Z consider Singapore Airlines the best airline followed by Emirates and then QANTAS. Both Singapore Airlines and Emirates followed QANTAS as the most trusted airlines.

Mirza Smajic, Vice President of Global Air Supply at StudentUniverse, commented: “It’s remarkable to see the increasing importance of Gen Z travellers in shaping the airline industry.

“The results of this survey provide insightful data for airlines and industry leaders and reaffirm how crucial it is to understand and cater to the needs of Gen Z travellers, a group known for its high value, loyalty and impact on the travel industry.”

“It’s an exciting time for airlines to adapt and evolve to meet the needs and expectations of this discerning generation.”

The top three votes for each category for StudentUniverse’s annual airline awards are listed below:

Best International Airline:

1. Singapore Airlines 29 per cent
2. Emirates 20 per cent
3. Qantas Airways 14 per cent

Best Domestic Airline

1. Qantas Airways 44 per cent
2. Virgin Australia 34 per cent
3. Jetstar Airways 15 per cent

Best Value Airline

1. Jetstar Airways 34 per cent
2. Virgin Australia 11 per cent
3. Rex Airlines 8 per cent

Best Service Airline

1. Virgin Australia 18 per cent
2. Jetstar Airways 16 per cent
3. Qantas Airways 13 per cent

Most Trusted Airline

1. Qantas Airways 24 per cent
2. Singapore Airlines 21 per cent
3. Emirates 15 per cent

Best Overall Airline

1. Singapore Airlines 18 per cent
2. Jetstar Airways 17 per cent
3. Virgin Australia 14 per cent