Le Bourget, FRANCE – Qatar Airways took home three honours at the annual Skytrax 2013 World Airline Awards during the Paris Air Show this week in Le Bourget, France. The airline was awarded World’s Best Business Class, World’s Best Business Class Lounge and Best Staff Service in the Middle East.

The World Airline Awards are a global benchmark of airline excellence. Skytrax is the only global independent passenger survey monitoring airline standards and is considered the ultimate testament for excellence in the airline industry. Travellers from over 160 countries take part each year in the world’s largest airline passenger satisfaction survey to decide the award winners.

“These awards are highly rewarding as they are judiciously voted by passengers; a true account of the overall experience felt by the customers that have travelled with the airline,” said Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker.

“A notable highlight is that these accolades reflect every touchpoint for the premium and economy class passenger – on the ground service and inflight experience.”

The recognition for end-to-end superior service quality is a reflection of Qatar Airways’ commitment to being a Five Star carrier in every capacity. 

These awards are not new for the airline. For the eighth consecutive year, Qatar Airways has been named Best Airline in the Middle East and for the second year straight has been bestowed the Best Service Staff award. In 2010, Qatar Airways took home the Best Business Class In The World title for the first time, followed by the coveted Airline of the Year award in 2011 and 2012.

In Paris to collect the awards, Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said that employees are the true heroes behind the awards, their dedication and commitment have brought the airline to its winning status today. 

“I am extremely proud of the people behind these awards – our highly service-oriented staff that takes each passenger experience as their own, and redefine travel as the art form that it is; an experience to be remembered and treasured.

“We would like to thank our passengers for their continued support for choosing to fly with Qatar Airways. We are well aware that there is fierce competition and we recognize that you count on us to deliver on our five star promise each and every time you fly with us.

“The airline goes to great lengths to consider passenger convenience and comfort at every step of their journey, and we are pleased that these efforts have not gone unnoticed,” said Al Baker. 

Coinciding with the air show, Qatar Airways recently increased its service frequency to Paris to triple daily from the start of this month. Additional capacity upgrades for the remainder of the network are also being introduced soon.

The Doha-based airline, one of the fastest growing in the world, has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 124 aircraft to 128 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and The Americas.

Qatar Airways has so far launched six destinations this year – Gassim (Saudi Arabia), Najaf (Iraq), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Chicago (USA), Salalah (Oman) and Basra (Iraq) – the latter started on June 3.

Over the next few weeks and months, the network will expand with the addition of further destinations – Sulaymaniyah, Iraq (August 20), Chengdu, China (September 3), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (September 18), Clark International Airport, Philippines (October 28) and Philadelphia, USA (2 April 2014).