Business travelers select their preferred airlines
Monday, October 8, 2012
When professionals learn their employers will be sending them on a trip, they may know about their destination, or even the serviced apartments they will be staying in. While they have probably heard of the airline they will be flying with, they might not know what kind of air experience they are in for or how good of a reputation this carrier has. Fortunately, Condé Nast Traveler recently announced the winners of its 15th Annual Business Travel Awards.
To find out what current business travelers consider to be the world's best airlines, Condé Nast Traveler had Global Market Insite, Inc. survey more than 46,000 individuals. Participants were asked to rate various carriers as excellent, very good, good, fair or poor across different areas, such as cabin comfort and entertainment.
In some categories, the difference between the first- and second-place winners was narrow, while in others, it was quite noticeable. Here were this year's results:
Domestic airlines
When it comes to the domestic airline with the best premium class, business travelers selected Virgin America, which earned an overall score of 87.9 out of 100 possible points. Based on the results, survey respondents were most impressed by the carrier's entertainment options, as they earned a score of 91.8. Cabin comfort and service also received high marks – 90.1 each.
Virgin is proud of the honor Condé Nast Traveler's readers have bestowed upon it and recently highlighted what it considers to be some of its finest in-flight features and services in a press release. For instance, airline officials said Virgin offers business travelers an "office in the sky," thanks to seats that include power outlets, personal entertainment and Wi-Fi.
Hawaiian Airlines followed Virgin in a distant second place with a score of 81.2. Sun Country Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines rounded out the top five.
International airlines
When business travelers are looking to fly to Europe, Virgin Atlantic is their preferred carrier with a score of 86.9. Swiss International Air Lines was a close second with a score of 84, while Lufthansa earned an 81.6.
The competition for business travelers' favorite Asian airline was quite competitive, as Singapore Airlines received a 91.4, Cathay Pacific earned a 90.5 and Air New Zealand scored 89.1.
In Africa and the Middle East, Emirates was the king of the sky in the eyes of business travelers, who gave the Dubai-based carrier a 91.