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MIDDLE EASTERN AND Asian airlines have dominated an annual list of the world’s best airlines, based on passenger reviews.
Qatar Airways took out the top spot at this year’s Skytrax World Airline Awards, which were announced at the Paris Air Show, after last year finishing second in the rankings.
The passengers’ choice awards, which have been run for over 15 years by UK-based Skytrax, were based on over 18 million completed surveys covering everything from the friendliness of cabin crew to the quality of airline food.
Last year’s winner, Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific, slid to third in the rankings while Turkish Airlines and Australian national carrier Qantas were the only two airlines from outside the Middle East and eastern Asia to make the top 10.
Germany’s Lufthansa was the highest-placed European airline at 12th, down from 10th last year, while Virgin America was the top-rated North American carrier in 26th place.
Aer Lingus came in at 61st on the list, while Ryanair didn’t make the top 100 – or even the top-10 low cost airlines, a list which was headed by Malaysia’s AirAsia.
Labour pains
The award came as the International Labour Organisation, the UN’s labour agency, called on Qatar Airways, which is owned by the monarchist Gulf state, to scrap contracts that allowed it to sack female crew who fell pregnant.
It also criticised the airline for its rule that women workers could only be picked up from their jobs by their husbands or close male relatives.
Qatar Airways Group chief executive officer Akbar Al Baker thanked the airline’s staff for their help in achieving the award following its announcement.
Our passengers are at the heart of everything we do at Qatar Airways, and we are very proud to be recognised by them,” he said.
South Korean Asiana Airlines was rated as the best economy-class carrier and Singapore Airlines the top business-class operator. Garuda Indonesia was declared the top airline for cabin staff.
1. Qatar Airways (2)
2. Singapore Airlines (3)
3. Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong (1)
4. Turkish Airlines (5)
5. Emirates (4)
6. Etihad Airways, UAE (9)
7. All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan (6)
8. Garuda Indonesia (7)
9. EVA Air, Taiwan (12)
10. Qantas, Australia (11)
- With AFP
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$50 more for an iPod just because it says U2 on it. What a rip off.
Bono was good friends with Jobs. That’s how the U2 iPod came to be
It was also one of the first (RED) products for an Aids charity if i remember correctly?
I’d rather donate directly to a HIV/AIDS charity than pay over the odds for sweatshop made “luxury” goods so a small percentage of the profits can be donated.
Well done, do that so. I only stated its origins.
Good job !
I think the iPhone is a flop as well. Hate it.
Bajillions would disagree.
A flop? :D each and every launch is more successful than the last, no matter how much you hate it.
Flops floppers floppy flop flop
Dave,
I’ve had my iPhone 4S for 2 years this month and I absolutely love it. I’d happily have it as my phone forever. It’s a fantastic piece of technology that I simply cannot get enough of.
Flop? No sir.
I concur… When I think back to the days of the Nokia 3310 and phones of the like; and other small phones with shit screens to access the web… Give me strength..
Long live the iPhone; the Nokia 3310 of smart phones :)
You understand what a flop means right, nothing to do with your opinion.
Or yours..
He didn’t say it was Hawkins. He’s talking about sales. iPhones sell through the roof, therefore are not flops. They are the precise opposite of a flop.
I think David is right. iPhones are terrible.
Sent from my iPhone.
I’ve had my iPhone 4 for 4 years now.
This article is a flop and waste of man hours !
Lazy “sponsored” article
More Business Insider shite. Seriously, TheJournal, if I wanted to read Business Insider’s appalling click air “articles” I’d go directly to their site.
Oh, and as the byline is at the end of the article, I couldn’t tell before I opened it, although I had an inkling two or three paragraphs in. There was a waft of dumb that set my senses tingling.
In fairness, Apple are not the type of company that tries to promote its flopped products.
Though the Newton was not considered a flop
U2 iPod may have not sold numbers – but Apples association with U2 helped brand positioning of iTunes & iPod. absolute win for apple gaining instant street credibility opening up marketing streams to likes of Simpson’s, Vertigo tour (largest stadium tour ever) & access to global record labels, who didnt just take a call but wanted their music on itunes. complete and utter success for all parties
Vertigo tour largest tour ever? Think that might be wrong.
when Vertigo tour ended in 2006 it was the biggest stadium tour ever in terms of gross & numbers. superseeded by the Rolling Stones a year later. U2′s 360 beat them all few years later.
The U2 iPod was hardly a flop ,I had to trade in the mother in law to get one after many failed attempts at securing one.
For that gaudy, awful, designer bullshit?
Can you not align the article correctly? All the titles & pictures are misaligned.
Who proof read this article? It’s all OVER the place! Someone slaughtered the left over tray of beer and realised they had an article due.
I have a U2 iPod also, didn’t pay any more than the standard one for it. It was a replacement for a faulty white one. Maybe worth a few bob some day ?
I am no techno whiz but apple ipod touch and i phone 4s battery life is fab towards my own samsung galaxy 2.. My husband bought apple tv today.. He is a happy man.. I however missed all my programmes this evening.. At least he is happy.. Hope he wakes for work in morn!!
Ha. They call a tablet produced pre- Tim Berners Lee’s interwebs a failure!!! Greatest bloody failure of our time.
Like all of the apple products mentioned above, the battery life sucks on apple products, except for the mac book air. But I phones and I touch’s battery is the worse, really fustrates me.
The battery on an ipad sucks, does it?
I have one. But the hard drice stopped working in it. For sale now. For those interested :P
Ah memories…. don’t remember why but I needed to bring an Apple portable from Galway to Dublin on the train. Played Solitaire but battery died in Athenry!
Taxi each end – too heavy!
Just for the record. No apple professional desktop machines come with monitors. So the fact that the G4 came without one is negligent. The price was the only barrier. Sure the latest Mac Pro references it’s design and proportion. And selling at $3k is proof that professional users see the value.
have your say