The award was handed over to the airline during the APEX EXPO in Boston, the US, Vietnam Airlines said on September 28. 

APEX is the only non-profit membership trade association dedicated to improving the entire airline passenger experience.

The APEX Official Airline Ratings were created based on passenger feedback gathered through APEX's partnership with TripIt from Concur, the world's highest-rated travel-organising app. 

Using a five-star scale, more than one million flights were rated by passengers across nearly 500 airlines from around the world between July 1, 2017, and June 30, 2018. 

First, passengers rated their overall flight experience from one to five stars. On the same screen, passengers were given the opportunity to provide anonymous ratings in five subcategories: seat comfort, cabin service, food and beverage, entertainment and Wi-Fi. The single screen rating allows airline passengers to easily rate their flight in less than 15 seconds.

At the prestigious four-star airlines level, only 23 global airlines attained the status. An additional 17 major regional airlines received the four-star airline status. 

The year 2018 has seen the improvement of Vietnam Airlines in service quality, aiming to meeting increasing demands of passengers, with Vietnamese culture deeply embedded in its products and services. 

Through the introduction of traditional “Pho” (noodle) and seasonal specialties such as “Thieu” lychee and longan, Vietnamese cuisine has become a highlight on each flight.

In July, the carrier received a four-star certificate by Skytrax for the third consecutive year.

 It was listed as a top Asian airline in 2018 by tourism website Trip Advisor.

Vietnam Airlines has also received two prestigious awards of “World’s Leading Cultural Airline” and “World’s Leading Airline - Premium Economy Class” in the World Travel Awards.

In 2017, the carrier recorded sales of 88.4 trillion VND (3.7 million USD) and carried 26.5 million passengers. Its on-time performance index (OTP) exceeded 90 percent.