Lagi, Garuda Indonesia bertahan sebagai maskapai Bintang 5 Versi Skytrax. Sementara untuk kategori maskapai berbiaya rendah, Citilink menyodok sebagai maskapai Bintang 4. Garuda pertama kali mendapatkan rating Bintang 5 tahun 2014 lalu, sedangkan bagi Citilink ini adalah rating Bintang 4 Low Cost Carrier pertamanya. Diperkenalkan pada tahun 1999, Certified Airline Rating adalah sistem pemeringkatan internasional yang mengklasifikasikan maskapai penerbangan dengan kualitas produk garis depan dan standar layanan staf mereka. The Certified Airline Star Ratings diakui sebagai patokan global standar penerbangan, yang dikembangkan melalui pengalaman profesional selama bertahun-tahun dan pengetahuan spesialis Skytrax tentang industri penerbangan dunia.

Dikutip dari situs resmi Skytrax, terdapat 5 kelompok rating untuk maskapai, yakni mulai Bintang 1 (terendah) sampai dengan Bintang 5 tertinggi. Faktor penentu dan klasifikasinya adalah sebagai berikut :

5-Star Airline Rating
Awarded to airlines achieving a very high, overall Quality performance. It recognises high standards of Airport and Onboard Product together with consistent and excellent standards of Staff Service delivery across the Airport and Cabin service environments.

4-Star Airline Rating
A seal of Quality Approval awarded to airlines that deliver a good overall Quality performance. The ranking represents airlines providing good Product standards across different travel cabins, and delivering good standards of Staff Service for the Onboard and home-base Airport environments.

3-Star Airline Rating
Awarded to airlines delivering a fair Quality performance equating to an industry “average” of acceptable product and service standards. This 3-Star rating signifies a satisfactory Product quality across different travel cabins. It is performing below 4-Star requirements due to inconsistency amongst either product and/or front-line Staff Service for the Onboard and home-base Airport environments.

2-Star Airline Rating
Shows airlines delivering a lower total Quality performance, in some instances below the industry average across many rating categories. A 2-Star Airline rating signifies an inconsistent or lower Quality of Product and/or front-line Staff Service for the Onboard and home-base Airport environments.

1-Star Airline Rating
This represents a poor quality of Product delivered across the assessment sectors, combining with low and/or inconsistent standards of front-line Staff Service for the Onboard and home-base Airport.

Garuda tidak sendirian menempati rating Bintang 5 ini, masih ada All Nippon Airline (Jepang), Asiana Airline (Korea Selatan), Cathay Pacific (Hongkong), Etihad Airways (Uni Emirat Arab), Hainan Airline (China), Lufthansa (Jerman), Qatar Airways (Qatar), dan Singapore Airline (Singapore). Penilaian dikelompokkan pada 3 layanan kelas yakni First Class, Business Class dan Economy Class. Masing-masing dinilai untuk area Airport Service, First/Business Class Lounge, On board product (long/short haul), Cabin Staff Service (long/short haul).

Garuda mendapatkan skor sempurna (5) untuk area-area :

• First Class : Priority boarding service, Staff assistance on arrival, Priority baggage service, Standard of washrooms, Standard of shower facilities, Cleanliness of lounge areas, Friendliness of staff service, Staff service efficiency, Total staff service hospitality, Seat comfort and personal space, Comfort items : duvet, pillows, turndown, Amenity kit and washroom amenities, Flexibility of meal service, Quality of wines & beverages, Service skills and proficiency, Enthusiasm and friendliness, Service hospitality, Personalisation of service, Cabin presence and attention, Responding to customer requests.
• Business Class Cabin Staff (Enthusiasm and friendliness, Service hospitality (long/short haul))
• Economy Class Cabin Staff : Service skills and proficiency (long haul), Enthusiasm and friendliness (long/short haul)), Service hospitality (long/short haul) , Interaction with customers (long/short haul) , Cabin presence and attention (long ), Responding to customer requests (long/short haul ), Quality consistency among staff (long/short haul), Speed and timing of services(short haul).

Secara umum, produk  First Class dinilai sangat bagus. Sedangkan Cabin Staff dinilai sangat bagus untuk semua kelas.

Bintang 4 merupakan rating tertinggi untuk kategori maskapai biaya rendah, belum ada maskapai yang memperoleh bintang 5 untuk kategori ini. Hanya ada 3 maskapai dengan predikat Bintang 4 kategori Low Cost, yakni Citilink (Indonesia), esayJet (Eropa), dan Norwegian (Eropa). Air Asia sendiri menempati Bintang 3. Untuk kelompok low cost carrier, penilaian dititik beratkan pada Airport Service, Onboard Product & Cabin Staff. Yang menarik, Citilink dinilai sangat bagus (skor 4,5) untuk Free Baggage Allowance & Price of Buy onboard (F&B). Sedangkan skor terendah (skor 3) adalah pada Onboard Payment Choises.

Selamat untuk Garuda Indonesia & Citilink.