The Best Airline in the World for the Eighth Time in a Row!
Thursday 27th of May 2021
For the eighth consecutive year, Emirates brings home the ‘Best Airline Worldwide’ for the eighth consecutive time by the Business Traveller Middle East Awards 2021. Taking the win even further, the airline also managed to bag the titles for ‘Airline with the Best First Class’, and ‘Airline with Best Economy Class’.
The Business Traveller Middle East Awards is one of the most coveted recognition of companies that go above and beyond in providing exceptional services to customers. This year, the awards was a celebration of hard-working companies at the forefront of business travel and services that stood out in a challenging year for the sector.
The awards covered all aspects of the industry from airlines, airports, hotels and loyalty programmes. Given the pandemic, hundreds of industry professionals from across the region took part in the ceremony virtually. Winners are selected from a shortlisted set of companies, judged by a panel of travel experts, alongside the magazine’s editorial team, in addition to feedback from readers.
Amid an industry-shaking period through a challenging year, Emirates managed to meet evolving customer experiences and industry demands. Emirates continuously put forth strategic approaches in improving customer experience onboard and on the ground. Leaving no detail behind, the airline ensures that customer safety is priority across all touchpoints.
Emirates was the first airline in the sky to introduce free Covid19 cover to passengers to help them gain more confidence in traveling. The initiative was widely accepted by customers and competitors alike, as many followed suit. Generously upscaling the offer, Emirates made it the airline’s industry first, multi-risk travel insurance and COVID-19 cover on all tickets at no cost to customers. In addition to COVID-19 medical cover, the cover also accounts for personal accidents during travel, winter sports cover, loss of personal belongings, and trip disruptions due to unexpected air space closure, travel recommendations or advisories, and other circumstances.
In regards of strengthening the digital approach to modernizing the air travel experience to a touchless journey completely, the airline also scaled up its biometric path and touchless check-in services. At present, there are over 33 Emirates biometric checkpoints and close to 50 touchless kiosks across Dubai International Airport.
The biggest assurance for customers who chose to travel during the pandemic onboard Emirates was the airline’s initiative to greatly expand its flexibility with bookings. Emirates’ customers can now plan and rebook their trips for up to 36 months, should their circumstances change. Skywards members also hold their tier status as is until 2022, with new inclusions such as online and retail shopping, as well as co-branded credit cards and other brand tie-ups as means of more ways to earn points.
The Emirates’ First Class experience remains unmatched to any other luxuries offered in the sky. In addition to the much talked about Boeing 777-300ER Gamechanger fully enclosed suites, the latest A380 private suites have been recently refreshed with additional enhancements including wider and taller doors for even more privacy and comfort. Customers travelling on the airline’s flagship A380 can also look forward to the in-flight Shower Spa, the Onboard Lounge and many other touches that take flying to a whole new level.
In the month of April, Emirates began trialing the IATA Travel Pass which is estimated to fully roll out to all its flights by the end of this month. As a part of making travel effortless and minimizing the restrictions, Emirates collaborates closely with industry bodies and government authorities to standardize Covid-19 related medical documentation like vaccine records and PCR test results. Emirates has also tied up with the Dubai Health Authority for digital verification of Covid-19 related medical records, further supporting a seamless, paperless experience for customers at check-in.
True to its ‘Fly Better’ promise, Emirates is ready with elevated onboard experiences across every cabin class when customers are ready to take to the skies again.