Emirates Airline has been named ‘Airline of the Year’ at the 2018 Air Transport Awards. Emirates won the prestigious accolade based the evaluation from a jury comprised of executives and experts from different sectors within the aviation industry.
Thierry Antinori, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for Emirates received the award on behalf of the airline. Commenting on the win, Mr Antinori said: “We are honoured to be recognised by the Air Transport Awards for our commitment to excellence. We have a strong customer-centric focus across the airline to deliver the best possible experience both in the air and on the ground by continually investing in a modern fleet, product innovations and service enhancements. We are also embracing technology across our operations to meet and exceed evolving consumer preferences. This award is a testament to the hard work and efforts of staff across the airline that make a difference everyday by taking care of our customers and keeping our service levels high.”
Emirates is the world’s largest international airline, with a network that spans 159 destinations in 85 countries, operating one of the world’s youngest wide-body fleets made up of Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft.
Over the past year, the airline has launched a number of significant product enhancements on its Boeing 777 and A380 aircraft. Emirates unveiled its enhanced A380 Onboard Lounge, featuring an airier look and feel, reconfigured seating arrangements around the iconic bar with private yacht-inspired décor, as well as new high-tech touches.
In November 2017, Emirates revealed its game-changing, fully enclosed Boeing 777-300ER First Class private suites, part of a multi-million dollar upgrade that saw enhancements across all cabin classes. The airline has also just introduced a brand new Business Class cabin and configuration on its Boeing 777-200LR aircraft, with wider seats laid out in a 2-2-2 configuration for the first time.
Emirates’ industry leading inflight entertainment system, ice, continues to set benchmarks, delivering up to 3,500 channels of entertainment for passengers across all classes. In Economy Class, Emirates introduced sustainable blankets made from 100% recycled plastic bottles, making it the largest on board sustainable blanket programme in the airline industry.
On the ground, the airline expanded its lounge network and today operates 41 dedicated Emirates Lounges globally. Improving the on-ground customer experience further, Emirates and its partners announced the ‘Together’ initiative, a collaboration for a streamlined airport experience with the implementation biometric technology and new automated border control gates, for smoother passenger flows through key touch-points at Dubai International Airport.
The Air Transport Awards are conducted every year, cutting across all of the main categories of the air transport industry.