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UAE's national airline also picks up three additional accolades at the World Travel Awards
· 2015 World's Leading Airline - First Class
· 2015 World's Leading Airline Inflight Entertainment
· 2015 World's Leading Cabin Crew
Etihad Airways has crowned a momentous 2015 by collecting the coveted 'World's Leading Airline' award for the seventh consecutive year at the annual World Travel Awards (WTA) Grand Final Gala Ceremony 2015. Last night's red-carpet event was held before an audience of the industry's leading luminaries and international mediaat the exclusive Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort, located in the Atlantic port city of El Jadida in Morocco.
The airline added to its winning streak by also picking up the awards for 'World's Leading First Class', 'World's Leading Inflight Entertainment', and 'World's Leading Cabin Crew'. The quartet of awards ends a remarkable year of achievement for the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, which included the entry into service of its flagship Airbus A380s and Boeing 787 Dreamliners, boasting the world's most innovative and highly customised commercial aircraft cabins, newly designed products and inflight services, and the introduction of its new livery and uniform.
Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways' Chief Commercial Officer, said: "Once again, Etihad Airways' commitment to reimagining flying earned us some of the industry's highest accolades, including World's Leading Airline for the seventh year in a row. This is a great reward for the monumental efforts all of us at Etihad Airways have put into making ouryoung and progressive company a global leaderin innovation, hospitality and style.
"We remain committed to transforming air travel by continuously investing in the best people, products and technology and,in doing so, developinga highly acclaimedairline brand into the undisputed provider of superior flying experiences in all cabins of service."
Graham E. Cooke, World Travel Awards Founder and President, said: "It is a tremendous honour for us to present the trophy for World's Leading Airline to Etihad Airways for an incredible seventh consecutive year.
"Our international voters have recognised the United Arab Emirates' flag-carrier's commitment to luxurious travel and acknowledged Etihad Airways' ambition to redefine how airlines operate in the 21st century.
"I look forward to discovering what Etihad has in store for 2016 to ensure the carrier remains at the forefront of international aviation. Congratulations to all the team in Abu Dhabi and around the world and the very best of luck for next year."
The awards cap off a successful month for Etihad Airways. On 4 December, the airline was awarded the highly prized Air Transport World (ATW) 'Airline of the year 2016' award, widely considered one of the most coveted accolades in the airline industry. The airline also collected the award for Best First Class at the Ultratravel Awards held in Dubai, adding to an extensive list of major awards won globally by the airline throughout 2015.
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About Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways began operations in 2003, and in 2014 carried 14.8 million passengers. From its Abu Dhabi base, Etihad Airways flies to or has announced plans to serve 116 passenger and cargo destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas. The airline has a fleet of 120Airbus and Boeing aircraft, with approximately 200 aircraft on firm order, including 66 Boeing 787s, 25Boeing 777Xs, 62 Airbus A350s and five Airbus A380s.
Etihad Airways holds equity investments in airberlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Alitalia, Jet Airways, Virgin Australia, and Swiss-based Darwin Airline, trading as Etihad Regional. Etihad Airways, along with airberlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Alitalia, Etihad Regional, Jet Airways and NIKI, also participate in Etihad Airways Partners, a new brand that brings together like-minded airlines to offer customers more choice through improved networks and schedules and enhanced frequent flyer benefits. For more information, please visit: www.etihad.com
World's Leading Airline - First Class
Inspired by the best hotels and restaurants in the world, Etihad Airways' First Class service includes a personalised welcome letter from the Cabin Manager and an elegant reception with a drink of choice and Arabic coffee service, fragrant hot towel, and traditional Arabian dates, served on a silver platter.
First Class dining features a contemporary menu with an enhanced selection of canapés, a palate cleanser served between appetizer and entrée, a pre-dessert course served by the Chef, coffee and tea from the 'Café Gourmand' brand accompanied by mini biscuits, cakes and pastries.
Guests can choose from an extensive haute cuisine à la Carte menu, or can select fine steaks and sides from The Grill menu, complemented by a choice of side dishes and sauces, and can also choose delicious meals and snacks throughout the flight from the All Day Dine menu. The onboard Chefs, many of whom hail from fine dining establishments around the world, including some Michelin Star restaurants, are provided with an onboard pantry of fresh ingredients including proteins and vegetables. These talented crew members can discuss made to order requests with the guest and can prepare a bespoke dining experience tailored to their palate.
Meals are served on sophisticated new crockery from the famous Japanese manufacturer Nikko, and new 'Royal Oak' cutlery has been designed by the quintessentially British brand, Studio William. Fine wines from the Etihad Airways onboard cellar are now served in crystal glasses for both red and white wines separately, created for Etihad Airways by Lucaris. A special XO Cognac service is provided featuring signature glasses designed by Norman of Copenhagen.
First Class bedding includes a luxurious all-natural mattress pad, duvet and pillow set, produced exclusively for Etihad Airways by COCO-MAT, widely regarded as the providers of the world's best bedding. The First Class turndown service is accompanied by a 'sweet dreams' card, pillow mist, and aromatic pulse-point oil for the wrists.
Elegant loungewear is provided for comfort and relaxation and guests are offered limited edition Sougha amenity kits, inspired by the culture and colours of Abu Dhabi, and containing a selection of exclusive products by luxury New York-based brand, Le Labo.
World's Leading Airline Inflight Entertainment
Etihad Airways has introduced its latest enhanced E-BOX personal entertainment offering using the cutting-edge Panasonic eX3 interactive system on its new fleet of Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 aircraft. The system provides hundreds of hours of on-demand entertainment, improved gaming, shopping and entertainment solutions, 3D moving maps, an Aeroreader document viewer, a new Graphical User Interface (GUI) dedicated to our younger guests and high definition screens across all cabins.
The system has video touchscreen handsets, offering guests in all cabins an additional screen to maximise their entertainment, so they can play games or view the moving map while watching a movie. Guests travelling together can make use of a unique video share feature which allows them to view programming simultaneously and audio filtering which gives the guest the ability to filter audio options by preferred genre.
Etihad Airways is one of the few airlines in the world to offer fleet-wide inflight connectivity services through its Etihad Wi-Fly solution.The airline's Live TV service is available on 50 wide-body aircraft, bringing quality content from seven television channels including BBC World News, Sport 24 and CNN, the top three most viewed channels, and CNBC, euronews, Japan's NHK World Premium, and Sky News Arabia.
World's Leading Cabin Crew
Resplendent in their stylish new uniforms, Etihad Airways' multi award-winning cabin crew hail from 118 nations around the world, giving the airline the advantage of having a harmonious, multi-cultural talent pool at its home base in Abu Dhabi, able to serve the needs of guests originating from all corners of the world.
Etihad Airways is the only airline to feature a multi-role complement of skilled cabin crew including the Savoy of London-trainedButlers serving the discerning clientele staying in The Residence aboard the airline's A380 fleet, First Class Inflight Chefs, Business Class Food & Beverage Managers, Cabin Managers, Flight Attendants, and its famous Norland College-trained Flying Nannies, who provide crucial care and support for guests travelling with young children.
For more information contact:
James Sanderson, Etihad Airways Corporate Communications
Dir: +971 (0) 2 511 3657
Email: jsanderson@etihad.ae
© Press Release 2015
