DUBAI – UAE-based airlines, Emirates and Etihad Airways, one again found aplace for themselves in the list of top airlines in the world.
While Emirates took up the fourth position on the list, Abu Dhabi-basedEtihad Airways figures on the 15th position.
Emirates has won World’s Best Inflight Entertainment award for the 14thyear in a row at the prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards 2018. Theairline also secured a service excellence award for best airline staffservice in the Middle East this year.
The Skytrax World Airline Awards are considered a global benchmark ofairline excellence. This year’s results were decided by more than 20million customers across 100 countries. The survey reviewed over 335airlines from August 2017 to May 2018.
“It’s an honour to be recognised by Skytrax for our commitment toinnovation and service excellence. We always work hard to stay creative,relevant, and continue to build content that appeals to our multi-nationaland multi-cultural passengers. The fact that these awards are based on thedirect feedback from passengers is gratifying and wonderful recognition forall of the hard work that’s gone into creating the Emirates experience,”said Patrick Brannelly, Emirates’ Divisional Vice President, and CustomerExperience (IFEC).
Emirates has always been an innovator within the industry as the airlinewas the first to install TV screens in every seat on every aircraft in itsfleet in 1992. Today, Emirates provides one of the most comprehensive andstate-of-the-art entertainment and communications services in the skies.ice, the award-winning inflight entertainment system, now offers over 3,500channels of entertainment, including over 100 kids channels and 850 moviesfrom around the world.
In addition to the unmatched variety of content, Emirates has also beeninvesting in providing connectivity and Live TV for its customers. Over 70%of all Emirates’ aircraft offer Live TV, including all its Boeing 777-200LRand 777-300ER fleet. Live TV provides passengers and sport enthusiasts anopportunity to watch their favourite matches and tournaments on Sport 24and Sport 24 Extra. Passengers can also enjoy a selection of internationalnews channels such as CNN, BBC World News, Sky News, Euro News, CNBC, andNHK World. Live TV is available on over 170 Emirates aircraft including itsBoeing 777 fleet and select Emirates A380s.
Wi-Fi connectivity is also available on over 99% of the fleet, includingall A380s, 777-300ERs and 777-200LRs. Customers in all cabin classesreceive 20MB of free Wi-Fi data, and each month nearly one millionpassengers connect while inflight. Emirates Skywards members can enjoyspecial benefits depending on their membership tier and class of travel,including free Wi-Fi when travelling in First Class or Business Class.
Emirates’ on-board product experience is complemented by the airline’sinternational team of over 21,000 cabin crew come from over 135 countries.Crew members, who speak more than 60 languages, are trained in world-classtraining facilities in Dubai to provide the very best in-flight service andEmirates on-board experience.Singapore Airlines cemented its position as the best airline in the worldfor 2018, according to a ranking by the consumer-aviation website Skytrax.
The Skytrax rankings are based on the impressions of 20.36 milliontravellers from more than 100 different countries.
The survey, which covered more than 335 airlines, measured 49 parametersranging from boarding procedures to seat comfort to the quality of service.
*The top 20 airlines in the world include:*
1. Singapore Airlines2. ANA All Nippon Airways3. Qatar Airways4. Emirates5. EVA Air6. Cathay Pacific Airways7. Lufthansa8. Hainan Airlines9. Garuda Indonesia10. Thai Airways11. Qantas Airways12. Swiss International Air Lines13. Japan Airlines14. China Southern Airlines15. Etihad Airways16. Austrian Airlines17. Air New Zealand18. Turkish Airlines19. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines20. Hong Kong Airlines