World Airline Survey Methodology

The most prestigious accolades for the world airline industry. Travellers from over 160 countries take part each year in the world’s largest airline passenger satisfaction survey, to decide the award winners. The World Airline Awards are the global benchmark of airline excellence.

2012 WINNERS
Best Airline Winners
Airline of the Year Most Improved Airline Leisure Airline Inflight Entertainment Cabin Staff Airline Alliance Airport Services Transatlantic Airline Transpacific Airline
Best by Cabin
First Class Business Class Premium Economy Economy Class
Best Seats
First Class Business Class Premium Economy Economy Class
Best Lounges
Lounge : First Class Lounge : Business Class
Best Catering
First Class Meals Business Class Meals Premium Economy Meals Economy Class Meals
Best by Region
Africa Asia Australia / Pacific China Central Asia / India Europe Middle East North America - Intl North America - Dom C America / Caribbean South America Europe - Southern Europe - Northern Europe - Western Europe - Eastern
Best Airline Staff
Africa Asia Australia / Pacific China Central Asia / India Europe Middle East North America C America / Caribbean South America
Best Regional Airlines
Worldwide Asia China Europe North America South America
Best Low-Cost Airlines
Worldwide Asia Australia / Pacific Europe Central Asia / India North America South America

PAST WINNERS

Trusted Survey and Awards Methodology

World Airline Awards : Survey Methodology

Operating since 1999, the World Airline Survey is held in high esteem for the clarity of process and rigorously applied rules of complete independence. No outside sponsorship or external influence is applied to any aspect of the Survey, making it the most respected global airline passenger survey.

The survey operated between July 2011 and June 2012, during which time air travellers completed a wide range of surveys - for the Airline of the Year, together with regional and other Award categories.

During the 10-month survey period, more than 18 million airline customers from over 100 different nationalities participated in the customer satisfaction survey. The Survey covered over 200 airlines, from the largest international airlines to smaller domestic carriers, and measured standards across 38 key performance indicators of airline front-line product and service.

The study analyses customer satisfaction for the Airline Passenger Experience, across the Airport and Onboard environments - from check-in to boarding, onboard seat comfort, cabin cleanliness, food, beverages, IFE and staff service.

Online Passenger Interviews

Business Research Group and Travel Panel Questionnaire

Corporate Travel Questionnaire

Selected Telephone Passenger Interviews

The World Airline Awards are the most prestigious airline Quality Awards.
	Transparent Survey methodology	No Charge to participate in the survey
	Awards voted for by Real travellers	Awards do not use a judging panel
	Worldwide Survey coverage	Awards do not allow sponsorship
	All survey costs are paid in-house	No "paid-for" Awards ceremony
	Full clarity of results & rankings	Global awards from a Global survey

Product and Service factors ranked by customers in the survey included :

GROUND / AIRPORT

Standard of Airline web site
Online Booking service
Online check-in services
Airport Ticket Counters
Waiting times at Check-in
Quality of Check-in service
Self Check-in options
Boarding Procedures
Pre-boarding for families
Friendliness of Ground staff
Efficiency of Ground Staff
Transfer services
Arrival services
Baggage Delivery
Handling Delays

ONBOARD : PRODUCT

Cabin Seat comfort
Cabin Cleanliness
Toilet Cleanliness
Cabin Lighting / Ambience
Cabin Temperatures
Cabin Comfort amenities
Reading Materials
Airline magazine
Inflight Entertainment standards
Audio / Movie programming
AVOD options
Quality of Meals
Quantity of Food served
Meal Choices
Selection of Drinks / Pay bar formats

ONBOARD : STAFF SERVICE

Assistance during Boarding
Friendliness of Staff
Service Attentiveness / Efficiency
Consistency of Service across different flights
Staff Language skills
Meal service efficiency
Availability thru Flight / Cabin presence
PA announcements
Assisting families with children
Problem solving Skills
General Staff Attitudes
Staff Grooming

Additional research included detailed back-up interviews amongst a representative sample of Survey respondents. This research was to investigate respondent reasons for Best Airline nominations, and prime satisfaction drivers when using an airline.

Data weighting was applied to provide nomination equity when evaluating airlines of different size. Data weighting used passenger numbers for airlines featured in the Survey.

ONLINE VOTING & DISQUALIFICATION

All online Survey interviews are screened to identify and monitor ISP / user information and delete all duplicate / multiple entries. The Skytrax poll-breaker program applies pattern-checking to all survey interviews. This identifies all nominations that follow similar rating patterns, or duplicating earlier entries - especially important to ensure that virtual private network users cannot submit multiple or misleading entries. The net result of the Skytrax poll-breaker program was that 3.34 per cent of total responses were ruled ineligible in this 2011-2012 World Airline Survey, to ensure maximum accuracy of final results.

No financial payment was made to any survey interviewees, and the cost of the Survey is funded by Skytrax, with no third party financial sponsorship or support.

The Trusted and Respected Airline Awards

Based on the SKYTRAX global, independent passenger survey of airline standards, the World Airline Awards are respected and recognised around the world for the professional and unmatched level of transparency that they deliver.

The Awards are NOT subscriber based and every airline across the world is eligible

The Awards are NOT limited to a selected number of airlines

The Awards are NOT limited to any selected geographical region

The Awards are NOT profit-driven

The Awards are NOT part of a self-interest award programme

The Awards are NOT based on any type of pay-to-attend Awards ceremony

The Awards are NOT driven by any associated or resultant advertising

The Awards are NOT sponsored or influenced by any third party

The Awards are NOT based on charging an airline to be included in the survey