The hilarious complaint letter by Oliver Beale to Virgin boss Richard Branson has been awarded the most read story of the year by Traveller magazine. It made headlines worldwide and will go down in history as one of the world’s greatest ever airline complaint letters.

The story of an Australian man who died aboard an ‘unbearable’ Air France flight where the air conditioning failed and the plane was delayed while on the tarmac came in second on the list ahead of the massive marketing campaign by Tourism Queensland to look for candidates for the Best Job in the World which attracted applications from across the globe. The competition also made the list for a suspected porn scandal.

The story of Virgin Blue offering free email upgrades inadvertently was voted fourth most popular while another airline, Tiger Airways, came in for harsh criticism from yet another disgruntled reviewer. Tiger Airways also rounded out the top ten for its abominable treatment of a breastfeeding mother in flight while stories about the world’s scariest airports, the most boring and overrate European cities

But ultimately it was the Virgin article that ranked the highest. Beale was literally disgusted by the standard of the meal offered to him on a flight bound from Mumbai to London last December that he felt obligated to write to express his dissatisfaction, creating a global phenomenon in the process as the complaint went viral. The letter is a mixture of humour and outrage, supported by graphic images that have entertained millions.