British Airways has been named the UK’s top consumer brand in the annual Consumer Superbrands survey.
Rival Virgin Atlantic comes in 20th place in the listing, which saw luxury watch brand Rolex at number two, followed by the BBC at number three. Microsoft and Nike completed the top five.
The list was drawn up after polling 2,500 British adults, who were asked to rank their favourites from a choice of 1,500 popular brands.
Marks & Spencer fell out of the top 20 for the first time since 2009, although rival John Lewis entered the top 20 for the first time in three years, taking sixth place.
Stephen Cheliotis, chief executive of The Centre for Brands Analysis and chairman of the Superbrands Council, told the Telegraph: “Younger brands, such as the social media giants, are sitting on the sidelines making little impact as a huge battle takes place among trusted, traditional brands seeking to remain relevant and retain their positions among the brand elite.
“British Airways retaining number one spot is a great example of a much-loved traditional brand that has also refreshed, re-focussed on innovation and invested to remain attractive and relevant.”
In a separate business Superbrands survey, which asked 2,000 business professionals to name their top brands, BA again came out on top, followed by Apple at number two and Virgin Atlantic in third place. Abta also retained its place in the table for the ninth consecutive year.
Chief executve Mark Tanzer said: “I am delighted that Abta has once again been voted as a business superbrand – it is fantastic to be included as one of the UK’s strongest brands.
“We work hard to ensure that Abta remains the most recognised and respected association in the travel industry, to help our members grow their businesses and so consumers can travel with confidence.”