Taiwan’s EVA Airways Corp. climbed two places to sixth worldwide in the latest airline rankings released June 20 by U.K.-based Skytrax, a leading aviation industry analysis and assessment firm.
In the online poll involving 19.87 million passengers from 105 countries and territories, the carrier based in northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan City finished first in business class amenities and cabin cleanliness, second in airport services, third in cabin staff, fourth in best airlines in Asia and fifth in airline staff in Asia.
The company also retained its five-star status after becoming the eighth carrier in the world to receive the honor from Skytrax last June.
China Airlines Ltd., the other major carrier also headquartered in Taoyuan, placed eighth in the best premium economy class category, according to the survey.
Among the 325 airlines included in the annual rankings, Qatar Airways was voted the best in the world for the fourth time. It was followed by Singapore Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Emirates and Cathay Pacific in that order.
According to EVA Airways President Derek Chen, after first receiving the five-star rating from Skytrax last June, the carrier has been leaving no stone unturned in upholding the honor. “These results demonstrate the consistency in our top-notch service,” he said. “It is a great honor to receive support from passengers around the globe.”
Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted said no airline can overlook the importance of inflight cabin cleanliness and the impact this has on customer travel experience. This is the second time in three years that EVA was voted by passengers as the World’s Cleanest Airline, a great testimony to EVA Airway’s inflight cleanliness and cabin maintenance checks, he added.
Established in 1989, EVA is a regular winner of global aviation industry and travel surveys. It also has the distinction of a virtually flawless safety record of zero fatalities.
Earlier this year, the carrier ranked sixth in the Global Airline Safety Index released by Germany-based Jet Airline Crash Data Evaluation Centre. It also made the top 20 list of the world’s safest airlines by Australia-based Airline Ratings. (SFC-E)
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