Note: All vacation / airline articles were
written to be published on FlightNetwork.com, when I worked for the
group from 2007 to 2010
Did you know that like hotels there are airlines categorized as “5 Star” airlines? Any guess who they are? Or what nations do they belong to? Most would expect them to be from relatively rich and affluent Europe and America right? – Wrong! Astoundingly all the 6 airlines ranked by London based consultancy firm Skytrax (www.airlinequality.com) in 5 star category emanate from Asia.
That’s right according to their most recent survey; none of the following six airlines in the 5 star category come from Europe or Americas.
Rank Airline
So what makes these airlines stand out from the thousands of airlines around the globe? As per Skytrax the survey is conducted taking many services and product factors in consideration. On Ground and Airport aspect; website standard, online booking and check-in service, airport ticket counters, check in wait time, ground staff efficiency and friendliness, transfer and baggage services etc are thoroughly surveyed.
Under Onboard Products; seat comfort, cleanliness, comfort amenities in cabin, in-flight entertainment and meals quality and quantity are some of the factors checked thoroughly.
The Onboard Staff Service is checked in disciplines like boarding assistance, attentiveness and friendliness of staff, meal service delivery, staff cabin presence, grooming and general attitude. The winners are those who rank on top in most of these areas.
The good news is that flying services of most of these carriers doesn’t cost you extra. On the contrary some of their fares are quite competitive. Thus on your next trip; you may want to check out if any of these airlines fly the route you are taking. Hope you will savor flying.
Did you know that like hotels there are airlines categorized as “5 Star” airlines? Any guess who they are? Or what nations do they belong to? Most would expect them to be from relatively rich and affluent Europe and America right? – Wrong! Astoundingly all the 6 airlines ranked by London based consultancy firm Skytrax (www.airlinequality.com) in 5 star category emanate from Asia.
That’s right according to their most recent survey; none of the following six airlines in the 5 star category come from Europe or Americas.
1.
Asiana Airlines -
based in Seoul, South Korea
2.
Cathay Pacific (under review) -
flag carrier of Hong Kong
3.
Kingfisher Airlines -
one of the major airlines of India
4.
Malaysia Airlines -
flag carrier of Malaysia based in Kuala Lumpur
5.
Qatar Airways -
flag carrier of Qatar based in Doha
6.
Singapore Airlines -
flag carrier of Singapore
Further, eight out of the ten ‘Airline of the
Year 2009’ awards have also been won by carriers from Asia. The remaining two places were taken by Qantas
and Air New Zealand at rank 6 and 8 respectively. The list of top ten airlines for 2009 by
Skytrax is:Rank Airline
1
Cathay Pacific Airways
2
Singapore Airlines
3
Asiana Airways
4
Qatar Airways
5
Emirates
6
Qantas
7
Etihad Airways
8
Air New Zealand
9
Malaysia Airlines
10
Thai Airways
So what makes these airlines stand out from the thousands of airlines around the globe? As per Skytrax the survey is conducted taking many services and product factors in consideration. On Ground and Airport aspect; website standard, online booking and check-in service, airport ticket counters, check in wait time, ground staff efficiency and friendliness, transfer and baggage services etc are thoroughly surveyed.
Under Onboard Products; seat comfort, cleanliness, comfort amenities in cabin, in-flight entertainment and meals quality and quantity are some of the factors checked thoroughly.
The Onboard Staff Service is checked in disciplines like boarding assistance, attentiveness and friendliness of staff, meal service delivery, staff cabin presence, grooming and general attitude. The winners are those who rank on top in most of these areas.
The good news is that flying services of most of these carriers doesn’t cost you extra. On the contrary some of their fares are quite competitive. Thus on your next trip; you may want to check out if any of these airlines fly the route you are taking. Hope you will savor flying.
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