The excellence of the UAE’s airlines - Emirates, Etihad and flydubai - has been recognised at the Business Traveller Middle East Awards 2020.

Emirates earned top spot at the awards by winning four accolades, including the coveted 'Best Airline Worldwide' award for the seventh consecutive year.

The airline also took home 'Airline with the Best First Class', 'Airline with Best Cabin Crew' and 'Best Airport Lounge in the Middle East'.

A spokesman for Emirates said: "The wins underscore Emirates' commitment to offer a better and safer customer experience in the air and on the ground across every class of travel. The awards also highlight how the airline has been supporting its customers during the Covid-19 pandemic, rapidly meeting evolving consumer expectations during these times.

"Emirates has re-engineered its customer experience with industry-leading health and safety measures across every touchpoint of the travel journey, and introduced initiatives to offer travel assurance, greater flexibility, and restore confidence in flying.

Emirates led the way to become the first airline to offer customers free Covid-19 cover to help customers travel with more confidence, knowing that medical expenses of up to 150,000 euros and quarantine costs of 100 euros per day for 14 days will be covered if they are diagnosed with Covid-19 during their travel, while they are away from home.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has been awarded ‘Best Economy Class’ and ‘Best Frequent Flyer Programme’at the awards.

Last year, Etihad transformed its economy product and service by introducing enhancements to the dining experience and providing guests with greater control, choice and value by personalising their travel experiences. A spokesman for Etihad said: "This accolade reinforces the airline’s commitment to innovating economy travel, in the same way it has already done in establishing its award-winning business, first and the Residence cabins. The awards are also testament to Etihad Wellness, the airline’s health and hygiene programme, which commits to providing travellers with peace of mind when flying during these unprecedented times.

"Specially trained wellness ambassadors, a first in the industry, offer reassurance to customers by sharing advice on travel well-being and details of the health and sanitisation measures that have been implemented throughout their journey."

Flydubai, the Dubai-based carrier, was named the Best Low-cost airline serving the Middle East at the Business Traveller Middle East Awards,

Voted by the public and readers of the magazine, the recognition reflects flydubai’s ability to deliver convenient and reliable travel services in a safe and measured way during an unprecedented time for the aviation industry.

Following the temporary suspension of passenger operations in March 2020, flydubai focused its efforts on operating all-cargo flights to enable the movement of essential goods and supporting governments and authorities with their repatriation efforts.

With the resumption of its scheduled services from July 7, flydubai redesigned its entire passenger experience to enable travel in a safe environment that minimises crew and passenger contact.

The airline has introduced Covid-19 cover to encourage more people to travel with ease of mind and has also partnered with local health providers to offer passengers polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing at special rates.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive officer at flydubai, commented on the occasion: "We are pleased to be named Best Low-cost airline serving the Middle East for the fourth time in five years by Business Traveller Middle East. It demonstrates the hard work of the flydubai team and is a recognition by our passengers of what we have done during a challenging year for aviation.

"Working together, all stakeholders in the travel industry have a role to play and we remain committed to adding more flights and frequencies to our network to enable more people to realise the opportunity to travel."

The Business Traveller Middle East Awards 2020 were presented virtually, and attended by hundreds of industry professionals across the region. The awards are judged by a panel of travel experts alongside the magazine's editorial team.

 

Copyright © 2020 Khaleej Times. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

Disclaimer: The content of this article is syndicated or provided to this website from an external third party provider. We are not responsible for, and do not control, such external websites, entities, applications or media publishers. The body of the text is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and has not been edited in any way. Neither we nor our affiliates guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions expressed in this article. Read our full disclaimer policy here.