Singapore Airlines Garners More Awards

SIA garners more awards

In another annual survey conducted by the UK edition of Conde Nast Traveller, Singapore Airlines was rated the 'Favourite Business Airline 2007' by Business Class travelers. -- PHOTO: BT

SINGAPORE Airlines has again secured the 'World's Best International Route Airline Award' in the annual Readers' Choice Awards 2007 poll conducted by the US-based travel magazine, Conde Nast Traveler.

The Airline has won this top award 19 times since it was launched 20 years ago.

Readers, who participated in the annual Business Travel survey conducted by the magazine, also voted the Airline as the winner in the following categories: Best Transpacific Business Class, Best Transatlantic Business Class

In another annual survey conducted by the UK edition of Conde Nast Traveller, Singapore Airlines was rated the 'Favourite Business Airline 2007' by Business Class travelers.

Recently, readers of the UK-based Business Traveller magazine voted Singapore Airlines as the top airline in the following categories: Best long-haul Airline, Best Business Class, Best Cabin Staff and Best Asian Airline.

These accolades come soon after the recently announced rating of Singapore Airlines as Airline of the Year in the annual Skytrax survey.

'We are grateful to our customers who have supported the Airline through the years by consistently according it good ratings in the various surveys. We appreciate their unwavering loyalty,' said Mr Huang Cheng Eng, Executive Vice President, Marketing & The Regions for Singapore Airlines.

He adds,'Our staff must also be commended for working as a team to provide the best possible travel experience for our customers. I am confident that these awards will encourage our people to continue their good work and to set even higher standards of customer service'.

The awards that Singapore Airlines has been winning over the years encompass categories such as inflight service and entertainment, food and beverage, ground services, safety and company management.

Qatar Airways Sponsors International Travel Exhibition In Vietnam

Qatar Airways Senior Manager Commercial Operations Far East & Australasia Marwan Koleilat, poses with local television celebrity Quynh Huong and Qatar Airways cabin crew holding a Certificate of Appreciation from the organisers of the International Travel Exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM - Qatar Airways has celebrated its first appearance at the International Travel Exhibition (ITE) in Ho Chi Minh City, with a successful participation as one of the event's key sponsors.

The travel trade and consumer show, considered one of the highlights of the travel calendar in the region, has grown in significance with Laos, Cambodia and host country Vietnam among the many nations that took part.

Record numbers of visitors attended the three-day event, which ended on Sunday at the Phu Tho Exhibition Centre in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's commercial capital. The event attracted more than 120 international buyers from 22 countries.

Qatar Airways launched direct flights to Ho Chi Minh City in March from its hub in Doha, State of Qatar, becoming the first carrier in the Middle East to serve the country of Vietnam.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said the expanded format at this year's ITE travel show highlighted its growing importance as a platform to promote outbound tourism from the region.

"Qatar Airways is delighted to be supporting travel to and from this part of the world with our four weekly non-stop flights which are part of our ever-growing international network," said Al Baker.

"The brand new international terminal at Tan Son Nhat Airport is an outstanding example of Ho Chi Minh City's status as a major travel destination, as well as being a point of origin for increasing numbers of passenger traffic."

Tourism ministers from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam officially opened the exhibition following high-level meetings between the participating tourism authorities. Delegations from each of the three "Jewels of the Mekong" combined their efforts to create the largest event in ITE's history.

Qatar Airways, one of the show's sponsors, exhibited a state-of-the-art stand at the event, which featured Business Class seats complete with cabin crew assistance to help create an onboard experience for visitors.

There were also flat-screen televisions displaying the airline's latest corporate video, together with refreshments for visitors, destination brochures and in-flight magazines.

Qatar Airways Senior Manager Commercial Operations Far East and Australasia Marwan Koleilat was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation from the event organisers for the airline's participation at ITE.

"We enjoyed highlighting our award-winning Five Star service at this important event and look forward to facilitating the growing number of people looking to travel from this region throughout Qatar Airways' expanding network," said Koleilat.

The increase in passenger numbers is expected to allow more premium class travellers flying Qatar Airways with access to its exclusive Premium Terminal at Doha International Airport, exclusively for departing First and Business Class passengers.

The Premium Terminal features facilities such as a spa, jacuzzi, duty free, business centre and fine dining restaurants. Built in just nine months, the terminal is the world's first commercial passenger building dedicated to First and Business Class passengers.

The Doha – Ho Chi Minh City schedules are:-

Depart Doha International Airport

Tue, Fri, Sat QR688 at 0745, arrive Tan Son Nhat Intl at 1920
Sun QR688 at 2359, arrive Tan Son Nhat Intl at 1135 following day

Depart Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City

Mon, Tue, Fri, Sat QR689 at 2030, arrive Doha International at 2359

Airbus 'insider trading' denied

Delays to the Airbus A380 have cost the firm billions

French finance minister Christine Lagarde has denied the government acted improperly in relation to alleged insider trading at Airbus parent, EADS.

Giving evidence to parliament, she said her ministry was not aware of any problems at the firm before approving share sales in the Airbus owner.

Media reports claim the state knew about setbacks to the Airbus 380 and still allowed suspicious share sales.

These occurred before news about delays to the Airbus A380 emerged last June.

Ms Lagarde told a French parliamentary committee on Thursday that the government had acted "in the most irreproachable" manner with regard to EADS from the end of 2005 to May 2006, when delays to the Airbus 380 superjumbo first became public.

The announcement wiped 26% off the value of EADS, the Franco-German firm which owns the Airbus plane manufacturer.

A report from the stock market regulator AMF sent to the French prosecutor's office a week ago is understood to have examined the extensive sale of stock options before the problems with the plane were revealed.

The French press, claiming to have seen a leaked copy of the report, claim 21 former and current managers are under suspicion but stock market regulators have refused to comment on this, saying their probe is incomplete.

This prompted a parliamentary investigation into the role of the French government, a major EADS shareholder, amid allegations that ministers allowed state bank CDC to buy shares from defence firm Lagardere in April 2006 despite knowing about problems at the plane maker.

'Not aware'

Ms Lagarde said that the finance ministry's internal investigation into its conduct proved that until "at least the end of May 2006", the government was "no more aware than the public or the markets" of delays with the superjumbo A380.

"The services of my ministry performed their task in the most professional manner, the most irreproachable fashion," she said.

Thierry Breton, finance minister at the time, testified last week before the parliamentary committee that he knew nothing of the deal with Lagardere, also defending the finance ministry's actions as "beyond reproach".

President Nicolas Sarkozy has promised to investigate fully whether the government played any part in the alleged insider trading, while opposition politicians have called for a public inquiry into the matter.

Shanghai’s seagull terminal nears completion

Officials at Shanghai Pudong International Airport have confirmed that the US$2.5 billion (Yuan 20 billion) seagull-shaped Terminal 2 project will open for passengers early next year.

This marks completion of the second phase of construction at the airport, which opened in 1999. Upon completion, the expansion project will increase the airport’s annual passenger capacity from 20 million to 60 million, making Shanghai one of the world’s largest airports.

More expansion is planned. The airport expects to handle around 100 million passengers a year and 5.7 million tonnes of cargo by 2020, making it the biggest international airport in China.

By then, it should have three terminals, two satellite buildings and five runways, and will handle most air passengers travelling to and from the city.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport is located in the eastern part of China’s Pudong district. In 2006 it handled 17.15 million passengers on international flights, considerably more than Beijing Capital International Airport, which handled 12.6 million international passengers. At present, only 5% of passengers traveling to Pudong are on transfers, but that figure is expected to grow to between 30 to 40% by 2020.