Emirates tops airline service quality survey

source: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/580445-emirates-tops-airline-service-qual...

Emirates has come out on top of a service quality survey of seven airlines operating longer haul flights out of the UAE, it was announced on Monday.

Both Emirates and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, which came second, outperformed rivals British Airways, Air France and Qatar Airways in the independent report conducted by customer service consultancy firm, Ethos Consultancy.

The study analysed the customer experience from flight booking all the way through to check-in, baggage drop, boarding, plane conditions, in flight services such as food and beverage, entertainment and shopping, right through to disembarkation and final baggage claim.

Emirates Airline was placed first overall scoring 92.3 percent, followed by Etihad Airways which scored 91.5 percent.

Swiss Air came in third with 86.6 percent, British Airways placed fourth with 84.3 percent, Virgin Atlantic placed fifth with 79.8 percent, followed by Air France at 72.3 percent, while Qatar Airways placed last with 71.5 percent.

Barry Judge, director of marketing at Ethos Consultancy said: "The aviation industry has never been tougher or more unforgiving, margins are paper-thin and airlines need to strive for continuous improvement by focusing on delivering consistently high levels of customer service that extend beyond in-flight service."

He added: "Both Emirates and Etihad have performed very well and should be content with their service quality performance during a very busy period, however their reports were far from perfect. There is certainly room for improvement and consistency moving forward."

A total of seven international airlines were included in the study. Criteria for inclusion included departure and return from either Dubai or Abu Dhabi in economy class with the flight being no shorter than six hours.

A total of 14 flight experiences were measured with all flights taking place during the 2009/2010 Christmas and New Year period.

While the survey found that all travellers were greeted by a flight attendant with a "warm and genuine nature" on boarding the aircraft, only 36 percent were greeted using their name when handing over their ticket to board.

Twenty-one percent of travellers involved in the study experienced departure delays, whilst 100 percent felt "completely safe and in good hands".

Seventy-nine percent indicated they were either very satisfied or satisfied with the amount of personal space provided on the aircraft and 71 percent said they would fly with their airline again based on the experience.