Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, has scooped three industry-leading awards for its game-changing First Class Private Suites and in-flight entertainment system ‘ice’, in addition to being named the ‘Best Long Haul Airline – Middle East and Africa’. The airline clinched the prestigious accolades at the Future Travel Experience (FTE) Asia Awards 2018, held in Singapore, and at the AirlineRatings.com Airline Excellence Awards 2019.
At the FTE Asia Awards, Emirates’ innovative and fully-enclosed first class suites topped the in-flight experiences amongst West Asian airlines to bag the “Best Customer Experience Initiative” award in the ‘Up in the Air’ category. The award in this category celebrates outstanding airline initiatives that have had the most positive impact on the passenger experience in-flight. Emirates’ state-of-the-art VR seat selection platform was also nominated for “Best Customer Experience Initiative” in the ‘On the Ground’ category, which recognises initiatives that elevate the passenger experience on the ground.
Emirates was named ‘Best Long Haul Airline – Middle East and Africa’ by AirlineRatings.com and ‘ice’, its inflight entertainment system, continued its global award-winning streak by securing the ‘Best Inflight Entertainment’ award for the third consecutive year in the world’s only safety and product rating website. Emirates also emerged as one of the top ten airlines for 2019 by AirlineRatings.com in conjunction with its Airline Excellence Awards. To be named in the top ten, airlines must achieve a seven-star safety rating and demonstrate leadership in innovation for passenger comfort.
The airline has been an industry benchmark in cabin innovation for years and dominates long-haul travel, offering customers across six continents an unmatched travel experience. Last year, the airline launched product enhancements on its Boeing 777 and A380 aircraft – unveiling its enhanced A380 Onboard Lounge, game-changing Boeing 777-300ER First Class private suites and new Business Class cabin and configuration on its Boeing 777-200LR aircraft.
Emirates is the first in the industry to introduce fully-enclosed First Class private suites, and this is part of the airline’s multi-million dollar upgrade. With floor to ceiling sliding doors and sleek design features inspired by the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Emirates’ Boeing 777 suites takes luxury and privacy to the next level. These spacious, fully-enclosed private suites are laid out in a 1-1-1 configuration, offering up to 40 square feet of personal space each.
Emirates pioneered inflight entertainment systems and the recognition by AirlineRatings.com seals its position as having the best-in-class product. The highly-acclaimed ‘ice’ system, which has consistently earned recognition by the industry, is also the 14th-time winner in the prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards 2018. It features over 3,500 channels and recently reached a new milestone by offering over 1,000 movies – more than any other airline.
Emirates has continually invested in upgrading its inflight entertainment systems and was the first airline in the world to offer in-seat TV screens in all classes in 1992. Today, Emirates offers the industry’s largest in-seat screens in all classes at up to 13.3 inches wide in Economy Class, 23 inches wide in Business Class and 32 inches in First Class. The viewing experience in First Class was recently enhanced with Bowers & Wilkins Active Noise Cancelling E1 headphones created exclusively for Emirates.
On the ground, Emirates is also the first airline to introduce web virtual VR technology on its digital platform with the launch of its 3D seat models on emirates.com. The 3D seat model is a visualisation engine that displays an immersive 3D 360-degree view of the interior of the Emirates A380 and the Emirates Boeing 777, offering customers the opportunity to explore their seats, the spacious cabin and the Emirates onboard product before their travels.
The FTE Asia Awards, which is part of the FTE Asia EXPO 2018, focuses on recognising customer experience excellence and rewarding the most customer-centric initiatives on-ground and in-flight from the last 12 months. The AirlineRatings.com Airline Excellence Awards is judged by seven editors with over 200 years’ industry experience. It combines major safety and government audits, with 12 key criteria that include: fleet age, passenger reviews profitability, investment rating, product offerings, and staff relations.