Etihad Airlines Wins Best Business Class Award

---

(ABU DHABI, U.A.E.) -- Etihad Airways jumped four places to win the 2009 award for the best business class in the world. Last year the airline placed fifth. The award was the result of votes cast by 16 million air travelers. The airline began operation just over five years ago.


The annual World Airline Awards organized by Skytrax measure all aspects of the air travel experience - on the ground, at the airport and on-board - as well as the quality of customer service.

Edward Plaisted, chief executive of Skytrax, said, " At a time of global financial crisis and its inherent impact on the airline industry, it is heartening to see that Etihad are seeking to build passenger loyalty by creating a raft of quality product and service standards that a customer will genuinely want to come back to."



Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways' chief commercial officer, said, "In the last year, Etihad has invested substantially in its business class product and service, both in the air and on the ground, and we are justifiably proud to know that the award was selected by the airline industry's most important audience - its customers."

Etihad Airways' business class cabin provides passengers with a flat bed on every aircraft in the airline's fleet of 29 wide-bodied jets.

Baumgartner added, "we believe it is the consistency and high quality of the end-to-end travel experience we are able to offer our business class customers that really make us stand out."

---