Middle Eastern airlines sweep up at World Airline Awards

Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Emirates, Oman Air, and Turkish Airlines were all winners at the 2011 World Airline Awards held at the French Air and Space Museum.

Qatar Airways won the coveted title as the World's Best Airline. The award was received by Qatar Airways CEO, Akbar Al Baker, who praised the efforts of all Qatar Airways’ employees.
“I am immensely proud of Qatar Airways and it is an honour on behalf of my workforce and my country to collect this prestigious award and for Qatar Airways to be named Airline of the Year,” said Baker. “Since I became the chief executive officer of Qatar Airways in 1997 at the time of Qatar Airways’ relaunch, my goal was simple – for Qatar Airways to reach the pinnacle of the airline industry.

“Most airlines invest heavily in developing their premium cabins and, while we continue to do this, Qatar Airways strives to innovate in Economy Class ensuring our high standards are maintained and passenger expectations are exceeded worldwide."

Etihad Airways won the award for the World's Best First Class Airline Catering for Product Quality.
Peter Baumgartner, COO - Etihad Airways, commented: “ "The World Airline Awards are known as 'The Passenger’s Choice', underlining the fact that Etihad Airways is clearly satisfying its hardest critics."

Emirates won the award for World's Best Airline Inflight Entertainment , Turkish Airlines was named the Best Airline Europe, and Oman Air won for World's Best Business Class Airline Seat and Staff Service Excellence Middle East. Edward Plaisted - CEO, Skytrax said: “The Middle East is now one of the most competitive regions for airlines and the award for Staff Service Excellence Middle East is a tribute to the steps Oman Air have taken to ensure passengers receive a world class experience. Oman Air joins a prestigious list of airlines that have received the award for Best Seat - Business Class. The Oman Air Business Class product was a very popular choice for voters in this years awards and in the final analysis, this seat was a clear winner by a considerable margin.”

The awards were voted by over 18.8 million airline passengers from 100 different nationalities.