THE WORLD'S MOST RESPECTED AIR TRAVEL AWARDS
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WORLD AIRLINE AWARDS™ |
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"the world's most respected and recognised Airline Awards"
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"Respect is not something that can be bought, but has to be earned through hard work, discipline and
adherence to a firm set of principles. At Skytrax this is paramount to every facet of the air travel surveys
that we conduct ... and has been so since 1999 when this project began" says Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax.
"Like most other industries today, the airline industry seems to have a different Awards ceremony or survey result
every week, and for the customer this creates not only an air of confusion, but can lead to a considerable mistrust of
the relative merits of an award. It was this lack of trust and clarity of survey methods that led Skytrax to establish
the World Airline Survey back in 1999 - a totally customer based survey about airline standards that provided a global
reach."
"At Skytrax, we derive amusement from a good number of different survey results that we see published, not only for the
apparent complete contravention with market trends, but lack of openness about survey methodology, and a general reluctance
to offer the supporting information and evidence that makes a survey trustworthy" added Plaisted.
There are surveys out there that falsely proclaim the title of World in their description, which are effectively very
regionally restricted. Worse than that, there are airline surveys that invite you to nominate Best Airlines for different
global regions and then deliberately limit the choices available for you to select from - linked one can only assume
to a financial relationship with featured airlines! An example is one study that asks respondents to select a Best Airline in
a region, and then presents just a fixed choice of 9-10 airlines to choose from.
Peter Miller (Director Marketing at Skytrax) points out that "many of these other surveys are financially self-serving, with no stated methodology,
no assurance of independence, and are geared totally towards making profits from selling tickets to an Awards ceremony!
We make it a central mission of all Skytrax studies to ensure that no such hypocracy or blatant profiteering can ever occur .... we have
an old-fashioned belief that respect and recognition should be earned, and that in time these profit-only cowboys will disappear
from the market".
Which awards should be taken seriously?
"Those based on reader polls or hosted by small publications and websites
have less credibility.
An exception - polls run by Skytrax. Its large sample of voters is
widely viewed as a plus. Skytrax awards - covering airlines, airports
and airport hotels - are highly prized in the travel industry.
With awards, it seems, importance depends very much on who's handing
them out."
The Age - Australia