Beating out more service-oriented airlines such as Cathay Pacific and Singapore, United Airlines took the top airline spot in Fortune magazine’s annual list of the World’s Most Admired Companies.

The rankings are determined from a survey of corporate executives, airline executives, boards of directors and industry analysts who evaluated companies according to the following criteria: innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term investment, quality of products/services, and global competitiveness.

Given the criteria, it’s not surprising to see American Airlines’ parent at the bottom of the list.