MONTREAL — Air Canada was the big winner of the night at the 2017 Skytrax World Airline Awards, where it was named Best Airline in North America.

It is the sixth time in eight years Canada’s flag carrier has been named the continent’s best airline by Skytrax, which polled nearly 20 million travellers from over 105 countries between August 2016 and May 2017. The awards were handed out at the International Paris Air Show.

“We are delighted to be recognized as the Best Airline in North America by Skytrax based on the opinions of those who know us best: our customers. This award is a significant milestone in the transformation of Air Canada into one of the world’s leading carriers and is all the more meaningful given the increased competition in our industry,” said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive of Air Canada.

Since 2010, Air Canada has embarked on a $10 billion capital expenditure program to elevate the travel experience. Customer-focused initiatives have included an expanded global network (Air Canada is one of only a few airlines in the world to serve all six inhabited continents), and new international, domestic and U.S. Maple Leaf Lounges.

It has also invested in a fleet renewal program that introduced Boeing 777s and Boeing 787 Dreamliners, with new Boeing 737MAX aircraft arriving in 2017 and Bombardier CSeries jets entering the fleet in 2019, plus refitted cabin interiors across its wide-body fleet, including the introduction of the first lie-flat business seat fleetwide in North America.

“I thank our employees for their hard work and dedication in helping us earn this distinction and I thank our customers for their loyalty and support as we have expanded our reach across the globe. As we celebrate our 80th year in 2017, we are extremely proud to be Canada’s flag carrier, North America’s Best Airline and its only Four Star network carrier,” added Rovinescu.