Air Pac in top 5
By RACHNA LAL
Air Pacific continues to fly high.
The national carrier has been ranked the fifth ‘Best Airline in the Australia Pacific Region.’
This was announced during the prestigious 2012 Skytrax World Airline Awards held at the Farnborough Air Show in the United Kingdom last week.
The awards are the most prestigious accolades for the world airline industry and are a global benchmark of airline excellence.
Air Pacific was also ranked in the top 100 airlines by Skytrax as part of its global airline rankings in the World Airline Awards.
Their latest ranking was 96, up 10 spots from 106 last year.
It is a big achievement for Air Pacific after 200 airlines were surveyed for the awards.
Air Pacific spokesperson Shane Hussein said such recognition was great news for the airline.
“To be mentioned as one of the world’s most prestigious airline awards for the first time shows that the turnaround effort by everyone at Air Pacific is working,” Mr Hussein said.
“With planned changes to our service model and the introduction of our new Airbus A330-200 aircrafts in 2013, we’re optimistic that our ‘new’ airline should see even better results in the coming years.”
Air Pacific embarked on a comprehensive restructuring and transformation plan in May 2010 to return the airline to sustained profitability.
The latest initiative in the turnaround strategy included the recent announcement that Air Pacific would re-brand and revert to its former name Fiji Airways, coinciding with the delivery of the Airbuses in 2013.
Meanwhile, Virgin Australia took number one position as the ‘Best Airline’ and ‘Best Staff Service’ in the Australia/Pacific region, beating Air New Zealand which held the ‘Best Airline’ in the Australia Pacific title for two years in a row.
Virgin Australia group executive of brand and customer experience, Mark Hassell, in a statement attributed their rebranding as one of the main reasons for the win.
“Over the past eighteen months, we have introduced a range of new product and service initiatives designed to enhance the travel experience and we are pleased that they are making a real difference for our guests,” Mr Hassell said.
“The World Airline Awards are highly-regarded in the industry as they are the most comprehensive airline passenger satisfaction survey in the world.
“We are proud to have achieved ‘Best Airline’ in our region as it highlights our success in repositioning Virgin Australia as the airline of choice for all market segments,” he said.
The Best Airline in Australia / Pacific region
1. Virgin Australia
2. Qantas Airways
3. Air New Zealand
4. Jetstar Airways
5. Air Pacific
6. Air Tahiti Nui
7. AirCalin
8. Tiger Airways Australia
Winners of other categories include:
• Most Improved Airline – China Eastern Airline
• World’s Best Leisure Airline – Air Transat
• Best Inflight Entertainment – Emirates Airlines
• World’s Best Cabin Staff – Malaysia Airlines
• Best Airline Ground Services – Thai Airways International
• Best Transatlantic Airline – British Airways
• Best First Class Airline – Etihad Airways
• Best Business Class Airline – Cathay Pacific Airways
• Best Premium Economy Class Airline – Qantas Airways
• Best Economy Class Airline – Singapore Airlines
• World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge – Qantas Airways International First Class lounge at Sydney Airport
• Best Low-Cost Airline – AirAsia
• Best Regional Airline – Garuda
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