AirAsia wins top honours from Skytrax, magazine
AirAsia has received international accolades from two prestigious sources this month, most recently from Skytrax, which gave it the "World Best Low-Cost Airline" and the "Best Low-Cost Airline in Asia" titles among the world's leading passenger-satisf
And a week ago, Aviation Week magazine named AirAsia as one of the top-performing airlines of the year.
The Skytrax World Airline Survey is conducted annually by respected London-based aviation consultants Skytrax. In the poll of almost 19 million travellers worldwide, AirAsia was chosen as the World’s Best Low Cost Airline for the fourth consecutive year. The independent survey measures airlines’ product and service standards.
AirAsia’s group chief executive officer, Tony Fernandes, was present to receive the award at the Farnborough International Airshow in England on Thursday. AirAsia was also named Best Low Cost Airline – Asia, also for the fourth consecutive year, at the same award ceremony.
"This comes as another great [piece of] news to us," Fernandes said. "We were overwhelmed when we found out that we came out tops in Aviation Week’s Top Performing Airlines Report, beating other longer-established airlines and even Europe’s largest low-cost carrier. We emerged tops in a report that measures airlines’ financial and operational performances, and we are once again voted the World’s Best Low-Cost Airline by our valued guests around the world in this Skytrax World Airline Survey.
"We would like to thank all our guests for their support and their belief in us to provide opportunities for everyone to fly. We will continue to uphold our promise in giving all of you the best service with everyday low fares, and we are proud to be your ‘people’s champion’ for the fourth consecutive year."
AirAsia has flown more than 150 million passengers since it was established 10 years ago with a mission to "democratise" air travel in the region and has been operationally profitable ever since. Besides its base in Malaysia, the airline has affiliates in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan, servicing 80 destinations across 20 countries.
All six of AirAsia’s airlines – Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Japan and AirAsia X – operate one of the youngest fleets of Airbus A320 and A330 jets in the world, with an average age of only three years group-wide.
Apart from a modern fleet, AirAsia’s popularity is attributed to consumer-friendly products and services complemented by low fares, an extensive route network with high flight frequencies, convenient booking and payment channels, and add-ons such as meals, seat allocations and baggage allowances.
Fernandes went on to say that winning such awards would not be possible "without the hard work, passion, dedication and creativity" of AirAsia staff. "Each and every one of them should be proud that their commitment to the airline has once again put AirAsia on the world map."
The airline is known for its innovations, popularising technology-backed travel services such as Internet and mobile bookings; Web, mobile and kiosk check-in services; no administration fees; and the use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Weibo, YouTube, Instagram and its blog to engage with customers worldwide.
