Best Standard Class

Most airline awards quietly ignore standard class. The numbers say they shouldn’t. On the majority of corporate travel programmes, economy still accounts for the bulk of long-haul sectors flown and the overwhelming majority of short-haul ones, and the experience inside that cabin is where the business traveller spends most of their time in the air.

The Best Standard Class award, part of the Travelling for Business Awards 2026, exists to correct the omission. It recognises the carrier doing economy better than anyone, on pitch, on crew, on catering against segment, on cabin condition, and on the increasingly decisive question of in-flight connectivity for the working traveller. The award is judged at the same weight as Best Long-Haul Airline and Best Business Class Experience, because for most corporate programmes, this is the cabin that decides traveller goodwill.

Eligible carriers include network, regional and low-cost operators with a marketed standard class product. Judging is grounded in submitted evidence cross-referenced with public benchmarks such as Skytrax cabin ratings and APEX passenger ratings, alongside GBTA traveller-experience research.

The editorial position behind this category is the one Travelling for Business magazine has held for years: economy is where most travellers actually live, and the corporate buyer who ignores it loses traveller goodwill faster than any other policy decision. A single carrier can credibly win this category without winning the operational long-haul or short-haul awards, and vice versa.

The 2026 judging panel includes frequent flyers across multiple alliances. Sponsorship of the Best Standard Class category is available; full details are on the sponsorship page.