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CATHAY PACIFIC WINS AIRLINE OF THE YEAR AWARD
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Cathay Pacific Airways picked up the 2009 Airline of the Year award at the first
live SKYTRAX World Airline Awards ceremony held in Hamburg, Germany on 1st April
2009.
The SKYTRAX World Airline Awards celebrated their tenth anniversary with around
500 people attending the 2009 Awards ceremony in Hamburg to see the winning
airlines receive their accolades. Edward Plaisted (CEO of Skytrax) handed out
awards in 34 categories - the winners being selected by the airline industry's
most important audience, it's customers.
More than 16 million air travellers drawn from over 95 different nationalities
took part in the 8 month long survey. The awards are recognised around the world
for being the only true global independent passenger survey of airline
standards. The survey does not receive any third party sponsorship and is
entirely funded by Skytrax.
Edward Plaisted said: "the Cathay Pacific victory this year is the third
occasion in the last ten years they have won this prestige title. A factor
behind the Cathay Pacific win is clearly the consistency of product and service
that they provide to their customers. Not only are Cathay Pacific satisfying
their passengers onboard flights, but the ratings they achieved for their
airport operations in Hong Kong also played a considerable part in this
success".
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AIRLINE OF THE
YEAR 2009 |
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BEST AIRLINES BY
REGION |
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1 |
Cathay Pacific |
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Asia |
Cathay Pacific |
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2 |
Singapore Airlines |
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Africa |
South African Airways |
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3 |
Asiana Airlines |
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Australasia |
Qantas Airways |
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4 |
Qatar Airways |
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Europe |
Swiss Int'l Air Lines |
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5 |
Emirates |
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Middle East |
Qatar Airways |
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6 |
Qantas |
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North America |
Continental Airlines |
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7 |
Etihad Airways |
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South America |
LAN Airlines |
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8 |
Air New Zealand |
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9 |
Malaysia Airlines |
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10 |
Thai Airways |
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Commenting on the 2009 Award, Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Tony Tyler said:
"We are delighted to once again be named Airline of the Year in the Skytrax
awards. This award is very meaningful because it was voted for by the travelling
public and it's a real tribute to the dedication and professionalism shown by
our whole team. At Cathay Pacific we have worked hard to develop a world-class
international network from our Hong Kong home, offering passengers top-notch
products and the best service in the air, and it's very pleasing to receive this
kind of global recognition."
Malaysia Airlines took the title of Worlds Best Cabin Staff, this being an
amazing achievement and represents the 6th time they have secured this top Award
in ten years. To have achieved such continuous success is a proud moment for
Malaysia Airlines and bears great testament to the hard work of all their front
line staff.
Malaysia Airlines CEO, Idris Jala, was delighted and proud of his cabin crew,
stating that "they have showcased Malaysian hospitality at its best, treating
our customers as valued guests in our own home".
Another repeat winner in the Airline Awards, was Emirates who were named winner
of Best Airline Inflight Entertainment - for the 6th time in ten years. Edward
Plaisted said: "in recent years the importance of inflight entertainment across
the typical air travel experience has grown considerably and this repeat win
demonstrates that Emirates remain at the forefront in delivering exceptional
standards of entertainment options to their customers".
Singapore Airlines won two key awards, taking the Best Airline First Class and
Best First Class Airline Catering titles. "Singapore Airlines always puts up a
strong performance in the World Airline Awards" said Plaisted, "and in winning
these categories, Singapore Airlines has had to meet the expectations of some of
the most demanding customers in this premium market".
Qatar Airways proved to be a popular winner, being named the Best Airline in the
Middle East and also walking away with the award for Best Economy Class. "As a
well established 5-star airline, Qatar Airways achieved success in the Economy
Class section, which was one of the most closely contested survey categories"
said Plaisted. "In the Middle East there is Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar
Airways all vying for the Best in Region title, and Qatar Airways achieved a
strong performance to take this Award".
Etihad Airways was named as Best Business Class, also taking the award for
Business Class Catering.
"Turkish Airlines success being named Best Airline Southern Europe met with a
resounding level of approval amongst the audience at our awards" commented
Edward Plaisted. "It is always a great pleasure to see such success being
greeted by genuine support from their rival airlines, and they were a popular
winner".
Elsewhere in Europe, success was enjoyed by Swiss International Air Lines who
were voted the Best Airline Europe for 2009, British Airways taking the accolade
as Best Transatlantic Airline and CSA Czech Airlines as Best Airline Central
Europe.
"Aegean Airlines leapt up the rankings this year, and it was a delight to see
them named as the winner of the Best Regional Airline Europe title" said Edward
Plaisted. "The regional airline market in Europe has become very competitive in
recent years, and Aegean Airlines are clearly satisfying their customers to have
secured this 2009 accolade".
Across the airport environment, honours were shared amongst Virgin Atlantic and
Thai Airways. It was a double celebration for Virgin Atlantic, with their London
Heathrow Clubhouse enjoying a successive win as Best Business Class lounge,
whilst Virgin also took the title as Best Premium Economy Class airline.
Thai Airways First Class Lounge at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport take the honour
as Best First Class Lounge. In addition to lounge facilities and amenities that
many lounges provide, this Thai Airways facility is well known for its Royal
Orchid Spa offering a full ranges of service including Foot-massage and
traditional Thai massage, 3 Spa Suites with Jacuzzi.
Further success in Thailand was enjoyed by Bangkok Airways winning the 2009
award as the Best Regional Airline Asia.
In the Southern Hemisphere, Qantas was named Best Airline Australasia with the
Best Low Cost Airline Australasia award going to their subsidiary, JetStar
Airways.
Korean based Asiana Airlines were in triumphant mood, walking away with the
title of Best Transpacific Airline, and in the culinary sector being named
winner of the Best Economy Class Catering award.
Continental Airlines enjoyed success for a consecutive year after being named
winner of the Best Airline North America category, proving to be a popular win
at the awards ceremony. LAN Airlines took the title as Best Airline South
America in the 2009 awards.
"The Skytrax awards are highly respected worldwide, and it is a great honour to win these
titles again" said Rodrigo Contreras, General Manager Australia, New Zealand and Asia for
LAN.
"It is a great vote of confidence in our in our total product to be rated so highly in such a
respected independent survey of world airline services" said Mr Contreras.
South African Airways maintained their grip across the African continent, being named the Best Airline Africa.
The Skytrax World Airline Awards recognise the importance of the low cost
airline sector, and this was a major part of the passenger survey. AirAsia was
named the Worlds Best Low Cost Airline for 2009, ahead of Air Berlin (2nd) and
easyJet (3rd).
"AirAsia is not only one of the pioneering low cost airlines in Asia, but also
the first pure low cost to launch long haul operations (having recently started
flying between Malaysia and the UK) and many will be watching this carefully to
see if such transformation can be successful" said Plaisted.
Although missing the top spot on a global basis, Air Berlin enjoyed success
being named as the Best Low Cost Airline in Europe, this being the most
competitive low cost airline market in the world.
With the last 12 months seeing each of the major airline alliances all adding
new member airlines, the 2009 award for Best Airline Alliance was won by Star
Alliance.
Release : 2nd April 2009
