Qatar Airways has been awarded the PAX International Readership award for ‘Best Cabin Interior Passenger Experience’ at an awards ceremony that took place at the Radisson Blu hotel in Hamburg, Germany on 3 April 2019. The carrier also received the ‘Best In-Flight Duty-Free Programme’ award for the Middle East - the third time in four years that it has won this award - as well as the ‘Outstanding Food Service’ award.
The ‘Best Cabin Interior Passenger Experience’ award recognises the unparalleled in-flight experience offered on Qatar Airways’ patented Business Class seat, Qsuite, which features the industry’s first-ever double bed in Business Class, as well as sliding panels that stow away, enabling colleagues, family members and friends travelling together to create their own private suite.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr Akbar Al Baker, said: “As an airline, one of our highest priorities is to provide our customers with an exceptional experience each and every time they fly. We continually strive to innovate in order to create a memorable environment onboard - from our cabin interior to our exquisite food and beverage service, to our extensive duty-free offering. We are very pleased that these awards recognise our efforts to pay attention to every detail.”
Qatar Duty-Free Senior Vice President, Mr Bruce Bowman, said: ‘We are delighted that our in-flight duty-free programme has been recognised as best in class in the Middle East for the third time in four years. This is a testament to our commitment to provide passengers with a selection of luxury and leading brands and products tailored to their needs. The introduction of our online pre-order facility last year also means that passengers can shop prior to travelling and have their shopping delivered to the comfort of their seats. The Middle East is a highly competitive region for duty-free; thus we are tremendously gratified to have received this award.”
Qatar Airways’ in-flight offering includes an exclusive selection of affordable and luxury brands, as well as its in-flight duty-free magazine, Extravaganza, introducing passengers to a collection of more than 170 in-flight products, including fragrances, cosmetics, skincare, watches, jewellery, fashion accessories, toys, and Qatar Airways memorabilia.
One of the largest duty-free retailers in the world, Qatar Duty-Free (QDF) boasts more than 90 elegant boutiques and luxury, high-end stores, as well as more than 30 restaurants and cafés covering an area of 40,000 square metres at HIA, providing travellers with a world-class shopping experience under one roof. Luxury brands also available at the five-star airport include Tiffany & Co., Gucci, Bulgari, Hermès, Burberry, Hugo Boss, Moncler, Rolex and Harrods. In addition, the award-winning duty-free retailer regularly showcases podiums and pop-up stores including the Maison Christian Dior boutique, a TUMI Pop-up store, the Dior Les Parfums Podium and the Aigner Luxury Boutique.
A multiple-award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Business Class’ by the 2018 World Airline Awards, managed by international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. It was also named ‘Best Business Class Seat’, ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’, and ‘World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge’.
Qatar Airways currently operates a modern fleet of more than 250 aircraft via its hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA) to more than 160 destinations worldwide.
The airline has launched an array of exciting new destinations recently, including Gothenburg Sweden; Mombasa, Kenya and Da Nang, Vietnam. Qatar Airways will add a number of new destinations to its extensive route network in 2019, including Lisbon, Portugal; Malta; Rabat, Morocco; Izmir, Turkey; Langkawi, Malaysia; Davao, Philippines; and Mogadishu, Somalia.
Qatar Airways is thrilled to announce that it has been named ‘World’s Top 10 Airline’, ‘World’s Best Business Class’, ‘Middle East Best Airline’, ‘Middle East Best Major’, ‘Middle East Best Business Class’, and ‘Middle East Best Economy Class’ by TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Airline Awards 2019.
The TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Airline Awards are based on millions of honest reviews from travellers around the world and reflect best service, quality and customer satisfaction.
Akbar Al Baker said: “Thank you to all our passengers who awarded us with these six Travellers’ Choice Awards. We are delighted that our continued pursuit of excellence is recognised by TripAdvisor travellers around the world. This is a ringing endorsement for all the hard work that our team has put in to serve our customers.
“This year’s achievements by Qatar Airways in the Travellers' Choice Airline Awards demonstrates our promise to set the highest standards and deliver the absolute best quality of service to our passengers. These awards are some of the most respected accolades in travel and to be awarded ‘World’s Best Business Class’, in addition to the Middle East awards for ‘Best Airline’, ‘Best Major’, ‘Best Business Class’ and ‘Best Economy Class’ as well as being named as one of the ‘World’s Top 10 Airlines’ is an incredible and proud achievement for Qatar Airways.”
TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel site with more than 730 million traveller reviews of hotels, airlines, restaurants and attractions, making TripAdvisor one the most recognised names in the travel industry. Airline reviews are based on customer ratings of seat comfort, leg room, in-flight entertainment, customer service, value for money, check-in and boarding, and cleanliness, in addition to an overall rating of the airline.
In 2018, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Business Class’, ‘Best Business Class: Middle East’, ‘World’s Top 10 Airline’, ‘Best Airline: Middle East’ and ‘Best Economy Class: Middle East’ by the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice awards.
