Airline Of The Year 2006

[Rinrada]

Another BUMPER year for old BLIGHTY AIRWAYS....

Willi Walsh not only making BIG profits but also been voted....NO.1

AIRLINE OF THE YEAR 2006 - RESULTS

British Airways has been announced as the 2006 Airline of the Year in the World Airline Awards.

In second place is Qantas ....

with the 2005 winner, Cathay Pacific, ranked in 3rd position for 2006.

BRITISH AIRWAYS Commercial Director, Martin George, said ...

"We are delighted to have won the prestigious accolade of airline of the year. The World Airline Awards are judged by the people whose opinions we value the most - our customers. We thank them for their continued support of British Airways.

The award demonstrates yet again that British Airways is offering the service our customers expect and considered among the best performing and popular airlines in the world.

We will continue to invest in our people and products to offer the excellent service our customers have come to expect".

THE WORLD'S TOP AIRLINES - 2006

AIRLINE OF THE YEAR 2006

Rank -Airline -2005

1-British Airways-5th

2-Qantas Airways-2nd

3-Cathay Pacific-1st

4-Thai Airways-7th

5-Emirates-3rd

6-Qatar Airways-8th

7-Singapore Airlines-4th

8-A N A-10th

9-Malaysia Airlines-6th

10-China Airlines-16th

© Skytrax Research

Commenting on the World Airline Awards, Edward Plaisted (CEO, Skytrax) said

......"the World Airline Survey is recognised across the globe as the leading independent monitor of passenger opinions - the survey process offering the only truly worldwide project, with open and uninfluenced results.

The final total of 13.61 million eligible, completed survey interviews was beyond our expectations, and we extend a very big thank you to all those customers who participated."

"Our congratulations go to the 2006 Airline of the Year winner, British Airways. In contrast to several previous year surveys, we found that the level of nominations for British Airways by their premium passengers was proportionately much higher than that of other airlines in the Top 10 rankings - clearly they are doing something right in that particular market. An airline undergoing considerable changes and cutting product levels to compete across Europe with the low-cost airline competition, a key element to emerge in the passenger voting for British Airways was that it performs well in terms of general product and service consistency."

Contrasting with the higher support for British Airways from their premium customers, the final rankings for Cathay Pacific, Thai Airways and Emirates were much more influenced by nominations from their Economy class customers.

"Qantas takes the 2nd place Silver Award, repeating their 2004/5 performance, and demonstrating that they are well-established amongst the top quality airlines in the world. A strong performer in other 2006 Category Awards, we will be watching with interest to see if they can push themselves into the top position next year!" added Plaisted.

The 2005 winner, Cathay Pacific, was ranked in 3rd position for the 2006 World Airline Awards, with Thai Airways in 4th place, and Emirates in 5th. Thai Airways enjoyed further success in the Awards, being named as Worlds Best Cabin Staff for 2006.

Continuing its upward rise in the Award rankings, Qatar Airways takes 6th position (up from 8th in 2005), ahead of Singapore Airlines (SIA) in 7th - SIA being a previous Airline of the Year winner in 2004. Qatar Airways strong performance extended to winning the Awards for Best Airline Middle East, together with achieving 2nd place worldwide in the Best Cabin Staff category.

Japan's ANA is another airline that improved on its previous-year ranking, moving into 8th place for 2006 (from 10th last year). A regular top 10 performer, Malaysia Airlines ranks 9th this year, slipping slightly from 6th position in 2005. The final Top 10 place goes to Taiwan's China Airlines, making a jump of 6 places from their 2005 ranking.

"We are already in planning for the 2006/7 World Airline Survey" said Plaisted, "and expect even wider coverage as more language options are offered up for online completion. This past year, we were able to provide English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese versions to our Business Research Group members, and clearly it is going to be beneficial to extend that across many more customers for the upcoming survey."

"The range of results published in the 2006 Awards are more extensive than ever before, and I hope you will take a few minutes to explore around the different categories. Like so many things in life, what is good for one is not for another .... what you like, I may not - but what I hope is properly represented across the World Airline Awards is the opinion of the majority" added Plaisted.

http://www.worldairlineawards.com/

[libya 115]

These awards always puzzle me:

For example is this based on Business class travel or economy class?

British Airways, along with (most) of those in the top ten quoted are excellent within business class.

I cannot fault most business class carriers, except for minor points like seat comfort, champagne vintage, or utility pack etc.

However: in economy class, the situation is much different: Rude/Non-existing flight attendant service is the norm. Cramped seats, broken In-Flight-Entertainment, flooded toilets, babies bleating etc. make most long-haul flights a living hel_l, for anyone over 5' 7" with normal hearing.

Far better to have an 'Economy Class' awards:

My economy class top 5 would be:

1. ANA

2. PAL

3. JAL

4. EMIRATES

5. AIR FRANCE

[iceice]

i hate british airways with passion......................

[Totster]

//duplicate

Edited August 6, 2006 by Totster

[Totster]

I didn't see Royal Jordanian in that top 10.

totster

[Rinrada]

Well young Willi must be doing summit right.....

BA profits soar despite fuel cost

however....

BA is being investigated by regulators over alleged price fixing

but...

Rising passenger numbers have helped British Airways shrug off the rising cost of aviation fuel and post a 57% increase in first quarter profits.

Pre-tax profit for the three months to the end of June hit £195m, compared with £124m in the same period of 2005.

Profits rose despite a 44% rise in fuel costs and a 7% hike in staff costs as a result of BA's pension scheme deficit.

BA said new low fares had boosted short-haul traffic and it had still been able to raise its profit margin.

'Brutal' competition

"On short-haul, our new low fares have been a big success," said chief executive Willie Walsh.

"While competition in this market is brutal, I am delighted to see we are winning customers with record seat factors."

But Mr Walsh warned that market conditions were set to get tougher in the second half of the year as airlines became more competitive on prices.

Meanwhile, fuel costs were expected to be £550-600m higher than they were in 2005.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5244404.stm

also considering.......

Sterling heading for $2 barrier

The pound has jumped in value against most major currencies

The shock rise in UK interest rates last week has sent the pound jumping higher against the dollar and other currencies, a trend that may continue.

Sterling rose more than two cents to $1.91 on Friday, a 15-month high.

Analysts think the pound could near the two-dollar mark in coming months as investors pile into the currency.

They expect the Bank of England to raise rates even further from their current 4.75%, presenting a good yield for those buying into the pound.

Sterling has also risen against the euro and the yen, helped by the fact that UK interest rates are higher than those in Japan and the European Union.

Maybe just the silly season.......

[Thaipwriter]

My mate's wife and 2 kids just moved here permanently from Europe.

BA lost 2 of their bags which were full of sentimental value stuff.

No sign of them yet!

[Totster]

//duplicate

Edited August 6, 2006 by Totster

[Dave the Dude]

i hate british airways with passion......................

So do I. Cant fault the organisation and online check-in but it all goes to pot when u enter the PLANE!!!!!!!

[TBWG]

I didn't see Royal Jordanian in that top 10.

totster

I note US domiciled airlines are conspicuous by there absence

TBWG

[stevemcqueen]

Where did Air Asia come??!?!!!!!!!!!!????????????

[geoffphuket]

Where did Air Asia come??!?!!!!!!!!!!????????????

[tolsti]

Good to see Bangkok Airways getting the award for Best Regional Airline S E Asia... great outfit to fly with

[baboon]

I flew with BA to Moscow economy class and could not fault them.Decent enough food, plenty of booze and friendly cabin crew.

I arrived at Heathrow with about 10 minutes to spare and check in pulled out all the stops to get me on the plane, warning me that it was unlikely that my bag would be on the flight but they would get it back to me a.s.a.p.

An enjoyable journey all in all.

[britmaveric]

BA #1????

[OneeyedJohn]

Had my worst flying experience with BA coming here years ago ( economy ) nothing worked, flight full, attendants full of <deleted>, zero compensation.

Letters of complaint achieved nothing other than snivelling bullshit promises to investigate.

Flying a BAC 1-11 from scabby dabby to Bahrain came close tho,, nearly shat my pants

[Goldenbead]

I have flown with BA several times from BKK-LON and then LON- Barbados. It has always been great. The main reason I fly with them when I go home is that between London and BGI, you are allowed 40 kg of luggage in economy and the airline guarantees you the larger baggage allowance on all sectors of the journey so I can travel between BKK and LON with 40 kg as well.

The only time I had a problem, my individual screen didn't work and they offered me a gift from their in flight catalogue as compensation. Got a gift and watched movies on the screen of the person sitting next to me.

[Ricardo]

Since being offered a cardboard-box by BA, as the baby-cot, on a BKK-LHR some years back, we no-longer consider using them. Have also found them very 'tight' on their luggage-allowances.

Am I alone in wondering how Thai Airways can have made it into 4th place ? Their long-haul fleet is out-of-date, their food only passable, and the newer Gulf-based airlines have them beaten hands-down on both quality and price.