São Paulo – Emirates airline, from Dubai, has been voted the best airline in the 2013 Skytrax World Airline Awards ranking. The announcement was made on Tuesday (18) at the Paris Airshow, in Le Bourget, on the outskirts of the French capital. Among the Arabs, the ranking of top ten airlines in the world also includes Qatar Airways, in 2nd place, and Etihad, from Abu Dhabi, in 7th.<\/p>\n
To choose the best airline in the world, Skytrax conducted a survey on its web page between July 2012 and May this year. Over 18 million people, of 106 nationalities, participated, evaluating 41 questions about over 200 airlines.<\/p>\n
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Among the topics surveyed is the company’s website, ease to buy a ticket on the internet, service at the airport, airplane comfort, cleanliness of the aircraft and bathrooms, quality of the inflight magazine, quality and quantity of meals, menu options and beverage selection, temperature of the aircraft and quality of the convenience kit, quality of entertainment programs on board, number of languages spoken by the crew, clarity of announcements on board, consistency and efficiency of the service, friendliness of cabin crew and skills in solving problems.<\/p>\n
The entertainment system on board Emirates was voted the best in the world for the 9th year running. The company also won the title of best airline in the Middle East. The president at Emirates, Tim Clark, said that this award is recognition for the efforts that the company is making to be the best in the world.<\/p>\n
“We are constantly striving to offer our customers consistent, world-class service that extends from the moment they make their booking to the moment they arrive home at the end of their journey [to the UAE]," said Clark, in a statement published on the company website. The company flies to 134 destinations in 77 countries and, in 2012, carried 39 million passengers. Last year, the company ranked 8th in the Skytrax list.<\/p>\n
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Apart from Emirates, Qatar and Etihad, the top ten airlines rank in 2012-2013 includes Singapore Airways (3rd place); All Nippon Airways, from Japan (4th); Asiana Airlines, from South Korea (5th), Cathay Pacific, from Hong Kong (6th), Garuda Indonesia (8th), Turkish Airlines (9th), and the Australian Qantas (10th).<\/p>\n
Qatar won the awards for best business class, best business class lounge and best service in the Middle East. Etihad took the awards for best first class, best first class seat and best first class catering service.<\/p>\n
*Translated by Mark Ament<\/strong><\/p>\n