Amirah Ibrahim polled the readers and a broad range of travel experts. Kudos go to five airlines and one airport Al-Ahram Weekly 's Sky High has conducted its annual questionnaire among travel writers, experts, businessmen and travel operators in Egypt. This year, we invited the readers to contribute according to their air travel experiences, and the response was significant, though the questionnaire was relesed with ten days only to reply. Our list of participants included travel and aviation writers, activists and public figures with long involvement in the travel business. We sought to learn about their personal and professional views based on their long experience in the field. Comments and explanations to justify the views were welcomed. Actually those comments helped us realize that some airlines which are supposedly so popular are not so attractive to Egyptian passengers. That was the case with the German carrier Lufthansa which was higly recognised for descipline and strong services but was disliked for the lack of human touch in dealing with passengers. Voters were asked to give only one choice for each category. Sky High did not give any help with suggestions. On our questionnaire, the most agreed choice appears first with the highest percentage followed by the next according to percentage. To understand more why did our voters go to these choices, read on. Ethiopian Airline: Africa's Best 45 per cent Despite the crash of Ethiopian flight ET-409 flying from Beirut to Addis Ababa on 25 January and the death of its 90 passengers and crew, voters reserved judgment until the results of the investigation are known as to whether the carrier was to be blamed over the tragic accident. "When customers are transferring between flights a minimum amount of time is required," commented Nagy El-Erian, a travel expert. "Ethiopian Airlines provides a strong network among African cities and a minimum connection time," El-Erian added. The carrier operates a fleet of 37 aircrafts; with orders of 35 aircrafts including ten Boeing 787 Dreamliners. It serves 56 international destinations with 210 weekly international departures from Addis Ababa and a total of 555 weekly international departures worldwide. The carrier is distinguished in Africa for serving 35 African destinations. Emirates Airline: Best Middle East 53 per cent Just over twenty years ago, Emirates was born as the official international airline of the United Arab Emirates. On 25 October 1985, Emirates flew its first routes out of Dubai with just two aircraft _a leased Boeing 737 and Airbus 300 B4. With a fleet of 137 aircraft, the airline currently flies to over 100 destinations in 60 countries around the world. Nearly 700 Emirates flights depart Dubai each week on their way to destinations on six continents. In fact, Emirates flights account for nearly 40 per cent of all flight movements in and out of Dubai International Airport, and it aims to increase this to 70 per cent by 2010. "It is such a brave airline that launches services to new and unexpected routes and destinations," Justified Ali Al-Halabi, Diredctor of Al-Ahlabi Tourism company and board member of Cairo Airport Tourism company. Emirates current order-book stands at 156 aircraft, with a total value of approximately $50 billion. In the financial year 2007/2008, the airline carried 21.2 million passengers and 1.3 million ton of cargo. British Airways: Best of Europe 43 per cent With franchise and codeshare partners BA flies to more than 300 destinations worldwide. It is a member of the Oneworld alliance and in co- operation with alliance partners it offers a network of over 600 destinations. It operates a fleet of wide-body aircraft mainly of Boeing 747, 777 and 767 which are operating on long haul flights to North America, Africa and Far East. "The carrier enjoys a strong network in Europe that makes it the first choice to think of when you arrange a trip to Europe," explained Fathi Nour, chairman of Egyptian Hotels Company. Singapore Airlines Best Far East 60 per cent Best Cabin Crew 73 per cent Best Business Class 45 per cent Singapore Airlines operates a fleet of 108 aircraft including ten Super Jumbo A380. The average age of the Singapore passenger fleet is about 6 years. The Singapore Airlines Suites, exclusively available onboard the A380, provide a privileged few with their very own haven of tranquility. Now, passengers can experience the pleasure of sleeping on a standalone bed; not one converted from a seat. As for the Business Class seats, each seat measures 30- inches in width and provides more personal space and privacy, arranged in a forward facing, 1-2-1 layout, with every seat having direct access to the aisle. When it is time to sleep, the seat converts into a fully flat bed. Between meals, passengers can head to the passenger corner to pick up snacks and drinks or socialise during the flight. "The lovely and nice flight attendants kneel to the ground while serving any passenger even the economy class passengers. What else would a passenger dream of?" asked travel writer Mohamed El-Ezabi. The airline returned to profitability in the third quarter of the financial year with a net profit of $404 million. As a result, Group operating profit for the quarter ending December 2009 was $323 million, in contrast to the operating loss of $182 million in the previous quarter. Qatar Airways: Best Economy Class 57 per cent Since its relaunch in 1997, Qatar Airways has achieved staggering growth in fleet size and passenger numbers. From only four aircraft in 1997, today, the airline operates over 75 aircraft. By 2013, the fleet size will rise to 120 aircraft. The airline currently has more than 220 aircraft on order worth over US$40 billion for delivery over the next few years. From its hub in Doha, capital of Qatar, the airline has developed a global network of destinations, covering Europe, Middle East, Africa, South Asia, the Far East and America. By the beginning of 2005, it flew to 56 cities, rising to 85 by December 2009. Qatar Airways' Economy Class was awarded "World's Best" at the Skytrax World Airline Awards 2009, in which more than 16 million travellers were polled. "They are committed to providing passengers with the highest level of comfort throughout their journey," commented El-Ezabi. "The economy class are provided with a state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment system, with a wide variety of international movies, music and games on personal screen." Dubai International: Best ME Airport 79 per cent Dubai International Airport is the main airport of Dubai. It is operated by the Department of Civil Aviation and is the home base of Dubai's international airline Emirates which handles 60 per cent of all passenger traffic, and accounts for 38 per cent of all aircraft movements at the airport. As of June 2009, there are over 5,600 weekly flights operated by nearly 100 airlines to over 200 destinations across all six continents. In 2009, the airport was the 17th busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic and 11th busiest by cargo traffic. Dubai's government has announced the construction of a new airport in Jebel Ali International Airport". It is expected to open in 2010; however, construction is only expected to finish by the year 2017. "On completion, the airport is expected to be able to accommodate up to 160 million passengers," stated Amr Sidqi, formerly of the Chamber of Egyptian Tourism. "The airport although huge is considered ideal in terms of passenger comfort while getting in and out," he added. Most important regional/world air travel event; be it good or bad: the world financial crisis 42 per cent. A recent report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned that global airlines were heading into their worst business crisis for 50 years with carriers facing possible collapse, revenues tumbling and hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk. IATA estimated airlines to lose $10 billion during 2009. "However, I consider the H1N1 alerts as the biggest snag that negatively affected air travel," commented travel writer Salah Attia. "I roamed more than ten countries through the past six months. I can tell that travellers were frightened by false stories about deadly epidemic disease to the benefit of the pharmaceutical industry," Attia explained. Here are the results for the best of 2009: 1- Best airline with respect to quality of service operating in: Africa: Ethiopian Airlines 45, Air France 29 Middle East: Emirates airlines 53, Qatar Airways 32 Europe: British Airways 43, Air France 24 Far East: Singapore Airlines 60, Malaysia Airlines 28 2-Fastest developing ME airline: Qatar Airways 56, Air Arabia 25 3-Fastest growing ME Airport: Dubai International 79, Cairo International Airport 11 4-Best business class service: Singapore Airlines 45, BA 31 5-Best economy class service: Qatar Airways 57, Malaysia Airlines 22 6-Best cabin crew performance: Singapore Airlines 73, Emirates Airlines 25 7-Most important regional/ world air travel event, be it good or bad: world financial crisis 42. H1N1 39
