Qatar Airways has been named ‘Airline of the Year’ at the annual Skytrax World Airline Awards 2011 for its outstanding inflight product and operational excellence. Qatar Airways’ global ranking among more than 200 international airlines rose to the world’s top position — up from third spot last year — further cementing its stature as one of the world’s best airlines. The awards are selected by the airlines’ most important audience — its customers. More than 18 million passengers worldwide were polled during the annual Skytrax awards. Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al-Baker collected the award at a ceremony on Thursday during the Paris Air Show, being held at Le Bourget. Qatar Airways, which remains one of a select-few carriers with a Skytrax Five Star ranking for service excellence, also claimed the “Best Middle East Airline” award for the sixth consecutive year. The international airline also received the accolade “Best First Class Lounge” for its Premium Terminal at the carrier’s Doha hub — a facility for exclusive use by Qatar Airways’ First and Business Class passengers. Al-Baker said the awards were a fantastic achievement, honoring many aspects of the airline, in which it had excelled in different areas, including its inflight product, onboard service, environmental leadership and overall operations in the air and on the ground. “At Qatar Airways we always aim at doing the best in everything we do. To be considered as the top airline in the world is a huge achievement and a very rewarding moment in Qatar Airways’ history.”
Park Hyatt Jeddah — Marina, Club and Spa has honored with the Best Business Hotel in Jeddah accolade at the Business Traveler Middle East Awards 2011. The award is voted by readers of Business Traveler Middle East magazine, and is a testament to the hotel’s constancy of providing exceptional service. The hotel is described as an innovative five-star sanctuary where contemporary luxury and exceptional service meets unrivalled views of the Red Sea and King Fahd fountain. The hotel enjoys a prime location in the very heart of the city, within the Al-Hamra district at the Equestrian Club and minutes away from the central business district. It has state-of-the-art meeting and business facilities for business and leisure travelers and an impressive array of sport and leisure pursuits. The commercial and financial districts, as well as the main shopping and entertainment areas of Jeddah are nearby making it the ideal launching point from which visitors can conduct business or explore the relaxing activities of the destination. Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a global hospitality company. The company’s subsidiaries manage, franchise, own and develop hotels and resorts under the Hyatt, Park Hyatt, Andaz, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Place and Hyatt Summerfield Suites brandnames worldwide. Hyatt Vacation Ownership, Inc., a Hyatt Hotels Corporation subsidiary, develops and operates vacation ownership properties under the Hyatt Vacation Club brand.
Marking its 10th anniversary, Jeddah Hilton has yet another reason to celebrate as the hotel wins its second award within two months, for the “Best Meeting & Events Facilities within a hotel in the Middle East 2011.” More than 620 events professionals gathered in Dubai for the 4th edition of the “Middle East Event Awards 2011.” With 19 categories receiving more than 200 nominations in total, the “Middle East Event Awards” are designed to reward those individuals, projects and events that have excelled in their respective categories or which contribute to the overall success of the events industry in the Middle East. The hotel’s winning streak continues as earlier this year the hotel was awarded the acclaimed “Best Luxury Hotel in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” This award was announced at The Saudi Excellence in Tourism Awards’ ceremony held recently in Riyadh with the support of Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities. The launch of the Saudi Excellence in Tourism Awards marks a new chapter for development in the tourism industry of Saudi Arabia. Its main aim is to recognize the outstanding achievements and positive contribution of the organizations to the industry in the Kingdom. The hotel on the Jeddah Corniche has been setting new standards in design, style and service since it opened its doors in 2001. It features 388 rooms and suites including three royal suites, 29 luxurious suites, three executive floors and an executive floor lounge.
bmi, British Midland International’s offer of its lowest possible return fares for travel between Saudi Arabia and London ended on Wednesday. Joerg Hennemann, chief commercial officer, bmi, said: “By booking early for this autumn and winter, our customers could take advantage of our lowest autumn and winter one way fares. These great value fares are perfect for customers planning on a short city break, a visit to friends and family or a longer trip.” From Saudi Arabia, bmi flies six times weekly from Riyadh to London Heathrow, and three times weekly both from Jeddah and Dammam on a wide-bodied Airbus A330 aircraft. All services benefit from convenient early morning arrivals at London Heathrow allowing for a full day of business in London or to catch connecting flights for onward travel. Exceptional connectivity at bmi’s main hub airport, London Heathrow, offers domestic and global destinations through bmi and its Star Alliance partners. Business Class customers to and from Saudi Arabia benefit from lie flat seats with up to 203cm of legroom, freshly prepared Arabic and international cuisine from a fully qualified onboard chef and in-flight entertainment on a 38cm seat back mounted screen with noise-canceling headphones. Economy customers also enjoy Arabic or international cuisine, a generous 81cm seat pitch and in-flight entertainment with individual seat mounted screens. Arabic-speaking flight attendants are on hand to attend to customers’ needs.
