Kenya Airways has been adjudged Africa’s Leading Airline 2016 at the World Travel Awards gala ceremony held in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Kenya Airways beat other nominees to win the coveted trophy voted by customers.
The airline also bagged Africa’s Leading Airline in Business class for the fourth consecutive year.
Kenya Airways’ Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Mbuvi Ngunze said: “We are honoured and delighted to accept these very prestigious awards.
They reaffirm the trust reposed by our guests who are at the heart of everything we do at Kenya Airways, and confirm our undeterred commitment to customer satisfaction.
“We will continue listening to our customers and respond to their needs, with a firm commitment to providing improved connectivity and quality service,” Mbuvi added.
Acknowledged across the globe as the hallmark of industry excellence, World Travel Awards serve to recognise, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the global travel and tourism industry within each key geographical region
The awards come barely a week after Kenya Airways Simba Lounge and Pride Lounge at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport were rated second best after Taipei, in Taiwan, by SkyTeam passengers in a recent survey.
The state of the art lounges were opened at the end of 2014 and have consistently won international awards over the past two years.
The Simba Lounge and Pride Lounge are for the exclusive use of Premier World passengers flying from or transiting through Kenya Airways’ JKIA hub and have a total capacity of 315 guests. They are also used by Sky Priority passengers from the airline’s SkyTeam partners.
Pride Lounge, which is set on 991 square metres, features a circular layout overlooking the airside.
It provides premium hospitality complete with piped music (sectional), washrooms and showers, a sleeping area, kiddy zone, and a dining/working area.
Simba Lounge meanwhile spans 360 square metres. Features of the rectangular lounge are: Smoking Zone, family lounge, business experience centre, piped music, washrooms and showers, a dining/working area and a VIP meeting room.
Kenya Airways recently announced several flight scheduling changes to boost operations and facilitate better connectivity within Africa and Europe, including Amsterdam.
The changes are also aimed at enhancing fleet utilisation to achieve lower cost of the fleet.
Best Alliance
The SkyTeam Alliance, in which Kenya Airways is the only African member, was recently awarded ‘Airline Alliance of the Year’ for the second year in a row at the latest Air Transport News Awards that took place in Salzburg, Austria.
Commenting on the accolade, Kenya Airways MD and CEO Mbuvi Ngunze said: “We are proud to be rated among the top. More so because this recognition is not just a vote about our product facilities offered, but also combines our customers’ very clear perceptions about our service standards.”
On his part, SkyTeam Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director Perry Cantarutti said: “Winning this award for a second consecutive year is a great honor and clearly demonstrates that SkyTeam’s customer-focused approach is being recognised by the industry and valued by our customers.
“We are focused on delivering value to our 20 member airlines and their 665 million customers by creating a seamless travel experience across our network of 1,057 destinations, and will continue to implement more industry-leading services and benefits to enhance the travel experience throughout the SkyTeam network,” Perry added.
Source: B&FT Online