The Frontier Awards, held each year in Cannes, is the most anticipated event in the travel retail and duty free calendar, attended by leading duty free operators, retail brands and aviation executives from around the world.

Qatar Airways Inflight Duty Free beat stiff competition from around the world to clinch top honours.

The Awards’ judging process involved a panel of six top executives who collectively boast a wealth of experience in the global duty free business.

Product selection, presentation, merchandising, customer service, crew training, promotional activities, overall look and feel of the inflight duty free programme and the onboard retail magazine were key factors taken into account during the decision-making process.

The judges also looked for innovation and excellence before reaching their decision in naming Qatar Airways as best in the business.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said the award was in recognition of the sheer dedication of staff at Qatar Airways Inflight Duty Free in making the onboard retail operation a huge success.

"This is a great achievement demonstrating years of hard work to ensure our inflight offering and the back-up infrastructure is today named best in the skies.

“The business has grown from strength to strength. We are selling many of the world’s leading brands across all sectors to provide passengers with an excellent shopping experience onboard at highly competitive prices.”

Over the short years that Qatar Airways has been operating, the airline has received several awards for excellence in all areas of operation, culminating in the ultimate last June when the Doha-based carrier was named Airline of the Year 2011 at the annual Skytrax World Airline Awards 2011.

Qatar Airways Inflight Duty Free Senior Vice-President Keith Hunter said: “A lot of effort goes into making the airline’s diverse onboard duty free programme exciting, varied and appealing for our passengers.

“We work closely with our brand partners and the Qatar Airways cabin crew department in making sure that comprehensive training is provided on the full range of products available. In doing this, product knowledge among cabin crew increases and there is a greater comfort level among passengers about what is being sold onboard.”

“Qatar Airways Inflight Duty Free magazine Shopping Extravaganza has always been regarded by our passengers and brand partners as one of the finest in the skies for quality and product range.”

The Shopping Extravaganza magazine is available in the seat pocket onboard all Qatar Airways’ flights and passengers can also view the entire magazine online at www.qatarairways.com.

Qatar Airways customers can pre-order their duty free items,  by sending an email to inflightdutyfree@qatarairways.com.qa or fax their choice of products with complete travel details and flight number to +974 44621588. It is recommended to select and pre-order at least 72 hours prior to your flight to secure the product of choice more conveniently.

Qatar Airways currently operates a modern fleet of over 100 aircraft to more than 100 diverse business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America. The airline plans to serve 120 destinations worldwide with a fleet of 120 aircraft by 2013.