Nothing to declare: Just how clean is your aircraft cabin? Photo / Getty Images
Nothing to declare: Just how clean is your aircraft cabin? Photo / Getty Images
The world's cleanest airlines have been revealed, showing that Air NZ skycouch could still be cleaner
On a plane, especially during a long-haul flight, it is important to not think of how gross that plane is.
You have to ignore thoughts of what the previous passenger was doing in the seat that's now your temporary home. You have to pretend yours are the first fingers to swipe all over the in-flight entertainment screen.
You have to believe the complimentary pillows and blankets are factory-fresh. You can't let yourself wonder what's lurking in the seat pocket, or how long it has been since the bathroom was cleaned.
We have to be like this because if we let ourselves fully comprehend the fact plane cabins are actually disgusting hotbeds of germs that not cleaned as often as we think, we'd never step foot in one again.
All Nippon Airways swept the awards beating the Japanese national carrier to first place. Photo / Getty Images
Thankfully, some airlines keep their cabins to a pretty high standard of cleanliness — and a new world ranking reveals the best.
Japan's ANA All Nippon Airways is the cleanest airline on the planet, according to SkyTrax's World Airline Awards.
The UK-based airline review site assessed the world's airlines according to how passengers rated their cleanliness, and also took into account the cleanliness of seats, tables, carpets, cabin panels and bathrooms.
Two Australian airlines managed to make the top 30 — Qantas was in 22nd spot and Virgin Australia came 27th.
Outranking the Aussie carriers, Air New Zealand made it to the list at number 20.
However, the Kiwi airline has to clean up its act if its ever get into the top five.
Japanese airlines had two of the top spots, with ANA and Japan Air at first and fifth place respectively.
Interestingly, not a single British or American airline made SkyTrax's top 30, which was dominated by Asian airlines.
Second and third place went to South Korean airlines EVA Air and Asiana Airlines respectively.
Air New Zealand was a brush above Australian rivals, but well outside the top 10. Photo / Getty images
Singapore Airlines was in fourth place, Japan Airlines in fifth, and Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific in sixth.
The state of plane cabins has been a hot topic for passengers recently. In February, British Airways stopped cleaning planes between flights as part of a four-day trial to see if it could quicken turnaround times.
Cabin crew were told not to tidy up after passengers got off and before the next load of passengers boarded. That included not touching the seat pockets, fixing the seatbelts, or picking up rubbish after the flight had landed.
The award for the cleanest airline is one of a number of awards handed out each year by Skytrax. Last year, it named Singapore Airlines the best airline in the world, and Singapore Changi the best airport in the world.
