2nd April 2009 – Cathay Pacific picked up the award for Airline of the Year award last night at the first live World Airline Awards ceremony, held during Aircraft Interiors Expo.

Organised by Skytrax, the World Airline Awards was celebrating its 10th anniversary at the same time as Aircraft Interiors Expo was commemorating its own 10th edition milestone with an exhibitor and airline networking event. Around 500 exhibitors and visitors attended the awards ceremony to see 24 airlines go up to receive their awards.

Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax, handed out awards in 34 categories. The winners are selected by the airline industry’s most important audience – its customers. More than 16 million passengers, representing 95 different nationalities, took part in completing the Skytrax World Airline Survey this year. The awards are recognised around the world, and renowned for being the only truly global, independent passenger survey of airline standards. The survey does not receive any outside or third-party sponsorship; it is entirely funded by Skytrax Research.

Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax, said: “Cathay Pacific’s achievement can be attributed to its strong showing across most of the survey categories reflecting a great consistency of service and product, which is clearly satisfying customers – be they in first, business or economy class. It was also apparent that Cathay Pacific’s airport services in its home airport of Hong Kong performed very well for the airline in terms of pleasing the passengers.”

Aircraft Interiors Expo’s Event Director, Katie Murphy said: “Hosting the World Airline Awards presentation during our 10th edition party has really topped off what has been a great show for us. We are really pleased with the level of airline and general visitor attendance – as well as the rebookings we have already taken for the 2010 show.”

Full listing of the winners:

Airline of the Year Cathay Pacific
Best Cabin Staff Malaysia Airlines
Best Inflight Entertainment Emirates
Best First Class Singapore Airlines
Best Business Class Etihad Airways
Best Premium Economy Class Virgin Atlantic
Best Economy Class Qatar Airways
Best Low Cost Airline Air Asia
Best Low-Cost Airline – Asia Air Asia
Best Low-Cost Airline – Australasia JetStar
Best Low-Cost Airline – Europe Air Berlin
Best Airline – Africa South African Airways
Best Airline – Asia Cathay Pacific
Best Airline – Australasia Qantas
Best Airline – China China Southern Airlines
Best Airline – Europe Swiss
Best Airline – Middle East Qatar Airways
Best Airline – North America Continental Airlines
Best Airline – South America LAN Airlines
Best Airline – Central Europe CSA Czech Airlines
Best Airline – Southern Europe Turkish Airlines
Best Airline – India / Central Asia Kingfisher Airlines
Best Transatlantic Airline British Airways
Best Transpacific Airlines Asiana Airlines
Best First Class Onboard Catering Singapore Airlines
Best Business Class Onboard Catering Etihad Airways
Best Economy Class Onboard Catering Asiana Airlines
Best First Class Airline Lounge Thai Airways
Best Business Class Airline Lounge Virgin Atlantic
Best Regional Airline – Asia Bangkok Airways
Best Airline Alliance Star Alliance
Best Low-Cost Airline – North America JetBlue Airways
Best Low-Cost Airline – Middle East Air Arabia
Best Regional Airline – Europe Aegean Airlines

The next Aircraft Interiors Expo takes place from 18 to 20 May 2010 at the Hamburg Messe. www.aircraftinteriorsexpo.com

About the organiser
Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organiser, with over 470 events in 37 countries. In 2008 Reed brought together over seven million industry professionals from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and organised by 38 fully staffed offices.

Reed organises a wide range of events, including exhibitions, conferences, congresses and meetings. Its portfolio of over 470 events serves 44 industry sectors, including: Aerospace & aviation, automobiles, broadcasting, building & construction, electronics, energy, oil & gas, engineering, manufacturing, environment, food service & hospitality, gifts, healthcare, interior design, IT & telecoms, jewellery, life science & pharmaceuticals, machinery, medical education, printing & graphics, property & real estate, security & safety, sports & recreation, travel.

Working closely with professional bodies, trade associations and government departments Reed ensures that each and every event is targeted and relevant to industry needs. As a result, many Reed events are market leaders in their field.

Reed Exhibitions is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a FTSE-100 company and world-leading publisher and information provider. In 2007, Reed Elsevier made an adjusted profit before taxation of £998 million on turnover of £4,584 million.