Etihad Airways wins award for the World's Best First Class Airline Seat at the 2010 SKYTRAX World Airline Awards

Etihad Airways won three awards for its First Class at the Skytrax World Airline Awards, having the World’s Best First Class, Best First Class Airline Seat and Best First Class Onboard Catering.

The annual Skytrax survey takes into account all aspects of the air travel experience as well as the quality of customer service delivered by each airline’s staff.

"We are exceptionally proud to have won these three awards for our new and innovative First Class product and service which is now recognised as the world’s best by the ultimate judges - air travellers,” said Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer.

Etihad Airways celebrate a clean sweep of First Class awards at the World Airline Awards in Hamburg

Etihad unveiled its new First Class cabin suite in 2009. The cabin contains 12 individual suites, accessed by its own sliding door and includes a personal wardrobe and a mini bar. It also has a 23-inch wide-screen TV LCD screen and luxurious soft furnishings and leather upholstered by Poltrona Frau, which also provides interiors for Ferrari cars.

Etihad Airways 'Inspired Service' concept on the ground and in the air seeks to provide its First Class customers with service individually tailored to their needs. On the ground, First Class customers flying from the Abu Dhabi airport can take advantage of the concierge and limousine service as well as a dedicated premium check-in zone. Onboard, a food and beverage manager is on hand to assist customers during the long and ultra long haul flights.

"On a global basis, out of 200 airlines, Etihad Airways ranked sixth in the world, moving up from seventh in 2009. The World Airline Awards are known as 'The Passenger’s Choice', underlining the fact that Etihad Airways is clearly satisfying its hardest critics — the passengers," Baumgartner said.

THE SKYTRAX 2010 WORLD AIRLINE AWARDS

Over 40 airlines from around the world assembled at the World Airline Awards in Hamburg to receive their accolades. The award winners are selected by the airline industry's most important audience - it's customers.

More than 17.9 million air travellers from over 100 different nationalities took part in the 10 month survey, July 2009 to April 2010. The awards are respected and recognised around the world for being the only truly global, independent passenger survey of airline standards. The World Airline Awards were established in 1999, and are known across the globe as "the Passenger's Choice" awards. The 2009/2010 Survey included over 200 airlines, from largest international airlines to domestic carriers.

The survey measures over 38 items of airline product and service standards. Assessing the customer experience across Airport and Onboard environments - check-in to boarding - onboard seat comfort, cabin cleanliness, food, beverages, IFE and staff service.

Airline Winner Testimonials A-Z of Award Winners

Any further enquiries should be directed to:

Mr Peter Miller - Marketing Director
SKYTRAX RESEARCH
E-mail: miller@airlinequality.com