This is the world's most powerful airline brand

Aeroflot, which was once considered an unsafe airline, has now been named the most powerful airline brand in the world

Aeroflot, a Russian carrier, which was once considered an unsafe airline, has now been named the most powerful airline brand in the world.

In its annual Global 500 list, Brand Finance, the world's leading independent branded business valuation and strategy consultancy gave Aeroflot AAA brand rating.



While nine other airlines also received the same rating, Aeroflot was termed the most 'powerful' of all, with emphasis on its sponsorship of Manchester United, the carrier's young fleet, and its heavy investment in marketing, particularly in Asia. The list also includes American Airlines, Delta, United, Emirates and Southwest among others.

"Aeroflot is honoured to be named the world’s strongest airline brand. This recognition reflects not just our 93-year legacy as the Number 1 air carrier in the world’s biggest country, but also our best-in-class service offering on domestic and international routes, the youngest fleet of any major carrier globally, and of course our marketing efforts," Vitaly Saveliev, CEO Aeroflot said.

According to the business valuation and strategy consultancy, 30 factors are taken into consideration while judging a brand's overall strength. These factors include, "data points such as fleet size, average age of fleet, safety measures, number of employees, investments made by the company, financial and operating results, client loyalty as well as key industry ratings from Skytrax and IATA," according to The Telegraph.



Brand Finance further stated, “The news may come as a surprise to those in Europe and North America more familiar with Western or Gulf flag carriers. Aeroflot’s brand strength stems in part from dominance of its domestic market. Its brand equity scores for metrics such as familiarity, consideration, preference and loyalty are formidable, both when compared against other Russian airlines and against foreign ones within their home markets.”

Here's how other brands fared in the list:

1. Aeroflot

2. Aeromexico

3. American Airlines

4. China Southern Airlines

5. Delta

6. Emirates

7. Jetblue Airways

8. Southwest

9. Turkish Airlines

10. Westjet Airlines

This article originally appeared on The Telegraph