When it comes to matters of trust, Australians prefer Air New Zealand, according to the annual reputation ranking by RepTrak Company.

The Kiwi national carrier outranked Qantas for the fourth year running, with the Aussie airline trailing in second place again.

The index is a measure of Aussie sentiment towards companies based on considerations like product and services, financial service and leadership.

Toyota, Australia Post and Microsoft weren’t far behind, followed by JB Hi-Fi, Australian Super, Mazda Australia, Aldi Australia and Samsung.

“This award belongs to our hardworking people, who despite deep uncertainty about the future, continue to represent our nation and airline with pride, serving our customers with outstanding dedication,” Air New Zealand’s chief marketing and customer officer, Mike Tod, said.

The announcement carries added weight this year, given it’s the most challenging time the carrier has faced in its 80-year history of flying to Australia, thanks to COVID-19. “Our Aussie connection began 80 years ago, when we took our first flight to Sydney’s Rose Bay on 30 April, 1940,” Tod said. “Australia is Air New Zealand’s largest international market and before COVID-19, at peak times we operated around 375 flights a week across the Tasman.”

“While we’re down to a handful of international services and a fraction of our domestic flying for essential travel and cargo, we’ve been overwhelmed by messages of support and care from customers.”

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