Emirates quick to conquer new awards

Emirates has swooped quickly on new awards territory by collecting Airline of the Year and In-flight Services of the Year at the Aviation Business Awards.

No sooner had the inaugural awards taken off, the fast moving airline was collecting fresh accolades to become the biggest winner on the night at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Dubai.

The airline lifted two of the evening's top awards - Airline of the Year and In-flight Services of the Year - reflecting the staggering investment the airline has made in its services.

After stunning the aviation world with its recent record-breaking aircraft order, Emirates announced it was investing another US$ 600 million in its in-flight product, propelling further its commitment to delivering the very best service airline passengers can buy.

Emirates' ice Digital Widescreen entertainment system now carries the largest TV in the airline industry - 23" in First Class, 17" in Business and 10.6" in Economy - and comes equipped with a feast of channels to satisfy even the most restless of passengers across all classes of travel.

Emirates' First Class suites provide true privacy in the sky with unrivalled levels of comfort, luxury and convenience with fully-flat bed, in-seat massage, dine-on-demand room service, personal mini-bar and slick sliding doors.

Business Class passengers can sink into multi-zone massage seats that recline to a 78" long lie flat bed, providing a new zest for meetings and appointments on arrival, while Economy Class passengers can enjoy the gourmet chef prepared meals in more personal space.

Terry Daly, Emirates' Divisional Senior Vice President, Service Delivery, said of the In-flight Services of the Year award: "We are unyielding in our efforts to provide the ultimate passenger experience, assisted by our more than 8,000 highly trained cabin crew. It is very gratifying for these efforts to again be recognised and demonstrates that we continue to leave competitors in the slipstream when it comes to delivering an excellent in-flight product and service."

The Aviation Business Awards, organised by ITP Business Publishing, featured fourteen categories in all. The Emirates family won four of the categories. Dnata Airport Operations, the ground handling arm of the Emirates Group, was named Ground Handling Provider of the Year, while The Emirates Aviation College (Aerospace & Academic Studies) picked up Aviation Training Academy of the Year.

Emirates' aircraft fleet stands at 112 with 245 planes on order. The airline is the largest Airbus A380 customer with 58 to be delivered. With the launch of Houston on 3rd December 2007, Emirates now serves 99 cities in 62 countries.