3:26:42 PM | 7/8/2005
Among thousands of airlines in the world, Vietnam’s national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (VNA) was assessed to have air services only better than 23 of the worst airlines, mainly in Africa, according to the world aviation studying organ Skytrax.
Skytrax’s ranking is very precise and helps airlines see their shortcomings and disadvantages, VNA Deputy Director Pham Ngoc Minh said, adding that Skytrax’s appreciation are based on many aspects such as flight bookings, services and conveniences in the flights. It also relied on reports from airlines.
To gain the “Five Stars” standard, the airline must have a large number of business customers who may be more familiar with the front-end of the aircraft. Meanwhile, visitors coming to Vietnam are mainly tourists and domestic customers who can only afford normal flights, he explained.
Moreover, after 12 years of operation, Vietnam Airlines has still not defined who will be its key customers, and as the result passengers keep on complaining about poor services the carrier provides, he admitted.
This year’s survey, the world's "largest", was conducted over an 11-month period (June 2004 - May 2005), and the final total of eligible survey nominations was 12,334,283.
Accordingly, Cathay Pacific scooped the 2005 Airline of the Year title, followed by Qantas Airways, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, British Airways, Malaysia Airlines and Thai Airways.
Skytrax Airline of the Year is the established, global barometer of passenger opinions about airlines around the world. Free of outside or financial influences, it is the only airline survey that achieves a truly worldwide audience - comprising of more than 94 different respondent nationalities in 2005. Unlike other airline surveys, Skytrax Airline of the Year is not focussed on one specific sector of the passenger market. It compasses a wide mixture of passenger types.
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