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For the second time in the survey history, Cathay Pacific has scooped the prestigious Airline of the Year title for 2005, in the latest World Airline Awards announced today by Skytrax Research of London.

The 2005 World Airline Awards are based on the annual Airline Survey conducted by Skytrax - carried out between June 2004 and May 2005. The survey measures over 35 different aspects of passenger satisfaction for each airline’s product and service standards, evaluating the ‘typical’ travel experience. This independent survey is regarded as a primary benchmarking tool for Passenger Satisfaction levels of airlines throughout the world.

Worldwide survey interviews totalled a massive 12,334,283 respondents - an increase of 1.5 million interviews on the 2004 result, with over 94 different passenger nationalities participating in the survey.

The World’s Top 10 Airlines - 2005

1 Cathay Pacific
2 Qantas Airways
3 Emirates
4 Singapore Airlines
5 British Airways
6 Malaysia Airlines
7 Thai Airways
8 Qatar Airways
9 Asiana Airlines
10 ANA All Nippon Airways

Selected regional rankings listed below: Cathay Pacific scooped the winners title as Airline of the Year 2005, having previously won the award in 2003. In second place is Qantas Airways (up from 4th last year), with Emirates in third position, maintaining their strong rankings in the survey.

Commenting on the results, Peter Miller of Skytrax …. “Cathay Pacific can be justly proud of this title as Best Airline, having received a very steady level of support and admiration from customers around the world throughout the survey period. As a service industry, the airline business is all about people, and in that quarter Cathay Pacific was repeatedly singled out for the high quality and consistency of it’s front-line staff - in both the airport environment and onboard flights. Allied to some very high onboard product standards, Cathay certainly seems to have achieved it’s motto of ’service straight from the heart’ and wowed passengers accordingly.”

“It is important to note that this is the most representative survey of airline passengers across the globe” added Miller. ” It encompasses all passenger types - be they business travellers, vacationers, backpackers and more. This ensures the survey truly reflects opinions from the majority, rather than a selective study which makes awards based upon a small number of business travellers only. Whilst every airline likes to fill up their First or Business class cabins with higher revenue passengers, much of an airline’s reputation is dependent on the quality of product and service they supply to their Economy class customers.”

As well as taking the Airline of the Year title, Cathay Pacific was also named airline with the Best Intercontinental First Class, following on from their earlier awards in 2005 for the Best First/Business class airport lounge facilities.

Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Officer Philip Chen said: “It is a great honor to have Cathay Pacific voted the Skytrax ‘Airline of the Year’ because it is such a world-class award. I would like to thank every member of staff around the world whose professionalism and dedication to excellence made this great achievement possible. Being a repeat winner reflects our commitment to deliver consistently high standards of service across the board. It also underscores our ongoing effort to make Hong Kong more attractive to passengers as a global aviation hub and gateway to the Chinese mainland, and our determination to make Cathay Pacific the world’s most admired airline.”

Qantas Airways takes the 2005 Airline of the Year Silver Award for 2nd place, moving up from 4th position in 2004, with Emirates securing the Airline of the Year Bronze Award for 3rd place.

Across the different regions, Air Canada’s ranking as Best Airline North America marks a resurgence of the airline from recent financial problems. “We are honoured to be acknowledged by travellers around the world as the best airline in North America,” said Montie Brewer, president and CEO of Air Canada. “This award confirms that our focus on customer-driven products and innovation coupled with quality service delivery is truly what our customers want.”

JetBlue Airways maintained its excellent service reputation by taking 2nd place for North America as well being named the world’s Best Low-cost airline.

British Airways takes the title as Best Airline in Europe, with it’s Club World service being named as the world’s Best Business Class. PGA Portugalia is the second placed European airline, as well as being named Best Regional Airline Europe - PGA Portugalia being is a very small airline compared to their European rivals. The third place in Europe goes to FINNAIR, who were better ranked by customers for their short haul product in Europe, contrasted to a rather outdated intercontinental product.

In one of the closest regional results, Best Airline Middle East goes to Emirates, who were only marginally ahead of Qatar Airways, and a resurgent Gulf Air in third place.

Malaysia Airlines secured the title of Best Intercontinental Economy Class, with Emirates 2nd and Singapore Airlines 3rd. “Whilst thousands of different reasons were given by passengers for their different airline nominations in this category, seat comfort was the most prominent and determined the final leadership of Malaysia Airlines over Emirates” added Miller. “On a long haul flight, customers want to be comfortable/rest/sleep (seat comfort), enjoy a meal (onboard catering), be entertained (inflight entertainment) and be well looked after (cabin staff). Airlines achieving leadership in this category are those that manage to offer the correct balance between these aspects”.

South African Airways continues its dominance of the Best Airline Africa award, taking the title in 2005 for the 6th consecutive year, ahead of Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways.

Jet Airways is named Best Airline India / Southern Asia, coinciding with the airline’s launch of direct flights between India and the UK - second place in this category going to SriLankan Airlines with Air Sahara in 3rd.

No part of the world has not been touched by the low-cost airline syndrome, and the 2005 World Awards have consequently expanded to include a number of key low-cost categories. Named as the World’s Best low-cost airline is JetBlue Airways - ahead of Air Berlin 2nd (also named Europe’s Best low-cost airline) and Virgin Blue 3rd (Best low-cost airline Australia/Pacific).

“Our congratulations go to all of the World Airline Award winners, who can hold their heads high knowing that their customers have given them a vote of approval and support” said Miller. “We look upon these awards as the world championships of the airline industry - where every contestant has to achieve the highest goal, if they are to succeed.”

Posted under Travel

Celina W. is a consumer who lives in Miami and visited Honduras in December 2003 using a small, regional airline.

As happens sometimes, the airline lost her luggage. Statistics regarding lost baggage claims are difficult to come by at either the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) or the Federal Aviation Administration. BTS data is available on a voluntary reporting basis through 2003 for large carriers on direct flights. Between 1990 and 2003, the number of reports about mishandled baggage per 1,000 passengers ranges between 3.84 and 6.73. The number is trending downward, but still remains a significant problem for airlines and an annoyance that can ruin a trip for consumers.

Celina’s luggage was lost on an international flight, which typically has higher liability limits, but comes with restrictions. For example, passengers are typically required to report lost or damaged luggage within 24 hours, but airlines are not required to make restitution within any time limit. Each airline’s “Contract of Carriage”, the fine print accompanying the ticket or displayed on the web site, spells out the airline’s commitments and responsibilities.

After reporting her luggage lost in December 2003, Celina was told that she would be reimbursed and “not to worry”. A smart consumer, Celina logged her calls to the airline’s customer service department and even noted the name of the customer service representative she spoke with.

That information proved invaluable when Celina still had no resolution after 10 months. She contacted Consumer Help Web and placed an order for the company’s Complaint Resolution Service for only $14.99. A consumer advocate wrote the airline on October 25, the day Celina’s complaint was received and was forced to write again several weeks later. Finally, after Consumer Help Web and Celina were ready to give up, the company contacted her to resolve the problem.

“It took nearly a year for the company to resolve this issue,” notes Consumer Help Web president Joan Bounacos. “This woman persistently contacted them and even hired our consumer advocacy company to get results. We believe that airlines should be held to similar standards as consumers and be required to resolve any lost baggage claims within a set time period.”

As for Celina, she reports that the airline has made good so that score is settled. With resolution in hand, her family retained Consumer Help Web again in January to attempt to obtain a refund from a vocational school that refused to cancel a contract after making sales claims that appear to be inaccurate.

“We get lots of repeat business,” says Bounacos. “Once people learn that we can help them for only $14.99, they quicly sign up. With busy lives and time consuming efforts needed to solve some cases, it often pays to hire a professional if the company is unresponsive.”

Posted under Complaints, Travel

Chicago’s mammoth O’Hare airport led all the nation’s major airports in flight delays in 2004, according to a federal Bureau of Transportation study issued this week. The delays at O’Hare occurred despite an August 2004 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) order reducing the amount of airline traffic in and out of the airport.

American Airlines and United Airlines operate the two largest fleets from O’Hare according to the FAA’s investigation. The Bureau of Transportation study showed that only 65% of American’s O’Hare flights departed on time and nearly 8% arrived late. United Airlines fared slightly better with 72% of O’Hare flights departing on time and 4.5% arriving late. Across all airports nationwide, 78% of flights departed on time compared with 81.9% in 2003.

The Air Transport Association, an industry group, has not released a statement regarding the increase in delayed flights, but CNN quoted association president David Stempler as saying, “Each airplane is a unit that the Federal Aviation Administration has to deal with, whether it holds 50, 150 or 350 passengers,” Stempler said. “The more of these regional jets and small aircraft that enter the system, the more delays we’ll experience.”

For now, consumers are being lured back into the skies with a new round of fare cuts that are bringing prices to their lowest point in years. Analysts say that the nation’s passenger volume has finally rebounded from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, but that the pressure is not on the airlines the way it was in prior years, such as when only 72% of flights arrived on time during 2000.

No one can predict weather or mechanical delays, of course, but some consumers may choose to entirely avoid some flights. One example is a SkyWest Airlines flight from Indianapolis to nearby Chicago that was late 100% of the time during 2004.

Posted under Travel

The Environmental Protection Agency released a new study this week showing that water supplies on 17.2% of 169 randomly selected aircraft were contaminated with “total coliform bacteria”.

Media outlets were quick to react. The Miami Herald ran an article January 20 highlighting the finding that planes in Miami tested worse than any other U.S. airport. The Denver Post also jumped on the bandwagon, leading their article with “Asking for bottled water or a canned drink aboard an airliner might be best for now.” More than 400 media outlets had picked up the story within 24 hours of the EPA’s announcement.

The Air Transport Association, an industry trade group, has released its own statement declaring aircraft water safe. A spokesperson for the association said, “Once again, the EPA chose to include samples from aircraft lavatories, which are essentially public restrooms, where there’s a high potential for cross-contamination of samples. We’re also concerned that many of the samples came from international carriers that the agency does not regulate.”

The EPA seemed to agree with the association, stating in its own FAQ section that “The presence of total coliform, in and of itself, is not indicative of a health risk. Coliform bacteria will not likely cause illness. However, the presence of coliform bacteria in drinking water indicates that other disease-causing organisms (pathogens) may be present in the water system.”

For now, treating water on an aircraft as one would any shared and public water supply seems the best course of action. Since most airlines serve bottled water, worried consumers may want to skip asking for ice. The EPA also recommends this course of action, stating, “Passengers with suppressed immune systems or others concerned should request bottled or canned beverages while on the aircraft and refrain from drinking tea or coffee that does not use bottled water.”

Posted under Health, Safety, Travel