Cathay Pacific voted "Airline of the Year 2005"

Cathay Pacific Airways has made a virtual clean sweep of this year's World Airline Awards with the announcement today it has been named Airline of The Year, Best Airline Asia and Best First Class in the world's "largest" global passenger poll.

London-based Skytrax says its 2005 World Airline Awards poll was the world's "largest" passenger survey ever with more than 12.3 million eligible nominations. Votes were cast by 94 different nationalities from June 2004 to May 2005.

The latest awards come on top of the airline's Hong Kong lounges last month being voted the world's best in a survey also conducted by Skytrax Research.

"Airline of the Year is the established, global barometer of passenger opinions about airlines around the world," Skytrax says. "Airline of the Year is not focussed on one specific sector of the passenger market. It encompasses a wide mixture of passenger types - business customers who may be more familiar with First and Business class and, most importantly, the large majority of global air travellers who travel Economy class, be it on leisure or business travel."

Cathay Pacific's The Wing and The Pier were earlier named 2005 Best Airline Lounges for First and Business Class travellers in the Skytrax survey. Skytrax said its lounge survey was based on the combined quality of product and service and "seeks out those airlines that offer something original and, above all, the best format".

Cathay Pacific was previously voted the Airline of the Year in 2003. It has carried off the Skytrax "Best Airline - Asia" award three times, "Best Airline - Transpacific" twice and won the Best Lounge award in 2002. In April this year, Hong Kong International Airport was named the World's Best Airport in a separate Skytrax poll for the fifth straight year.

The quietly luxurious new First Class Cabin features an ultra-comfortable seat which can be converted into what is one of the widest sleeper seats in the sky. All passengers are offered cosy duvets, sleeper suits and amenity kits to increase their inflight comfort.

 

Each seat has a Personal Television equipped with a large 10.4-inch fully adjustable screen offering passengers nonstop entertainment.

First Class Dining is now a la carte with smooth service, elegant presentation and attention paid to every detail. Passengers can order whatever they want from a specially designed menu and specify what time they would like their meal.

The Noodle Bar - which was first introduced at The Wing, Cathay Pacific's first award-winning lounge at Hong Kong International Airport - was an obligatory feature for The Pier. It serves a delicious selection of fresh Asian noodles, and a wide range of drinks and cold snacks.