APEX (Airline Passenger Experience Association) is the largest international airline association dedicated to passengers and to advancing their experience. APEX is the official ratings body that issues the new APEX WORLD CLASS™ award and accreditation.
YATES+ is a guest experience transformation consultancy dedicated to designing and delivering elevated guest experiences. In collaboration with the APEX association, YATES+ founded WORLD CLASS™ in 2021.
APEX WORLD CLASS™ is the highest benchmark in aviation and is the world’s only recognition program audited by industry professionals. It reflects what matters most to airline customers today. The award recognises airlines for outstanding service, depth of guest experience, F&B execution, the assurance of guest safety and well-being, and leadership in sustainability.
APEX WORLD CLASS™ includes qualities travellers often associate with luxury — such as space, comfort, personal attention, personalisation, fine cuisine, and presentation — alongside other important dimensions and attributes of the guest experience.
APEX requires the utmost scrutiny and transparency in awarding airlines APEX WORLD CLASS™.
Only an extensive audit by industry professionals can provide confirmation that APEX WORLD CLASS™ standards have been achieved.
YATES+’s audit team is made up of industry professionals with at least 10 years of aviation or hospitality guest experience leadership or consulting to major airlines.
Their competencies span strategy, design, execution and training across the entire guest experience.
The audit data is reviewed and validated by Associate Professor Dr Maxwell Winchester of Victoria University and Copenhagen Business School, an expert in qualitative and quantitative customer research methodology.
Customer reviews of the airline are included in the overall assessment. NPS and customer review data are assessed and triangulated with the audit results.
Both are high honors for the airlines that aim to elevate the traveler experience.
The APEX Five Star™ and APEX Four™ Star are Airline Awards, formally the APEX Official Airline Ratings™. They are the first airline rating program based solely on certified passenger feedback. The industry’s most anticipated honor is based on neutral, third-party passenger feedback and insights gathered through APEX’s partnership with TripIt® from Concur®, the world’s highest-rated travel-organizing app.
APEX WORLD CLASS™ is the only award in the world audited by industry professionals — on real flights, in real time — across dimensions that matter most to today’s travellers, with rigorous analysis and peer validation.
APEX WORLD CLASS™ provides the most extensive industry validation and recogintion of an airline’s comprehensive guest experience.
Yes. By requiring airlines to qualify through rigorous audits, APEX WORLD CLASS™ raises expectations across the industry and drives airlines to elevate every aspect of the guest experience.
