South African Airways is one of 36 airlines to be awarded the 4-star Airline ranking for 2014 by Skytrax, the independent, global airline rating organisation. This is the 12th year in a row for SAA, which also remains the only carrier on the African continent to achieve a 4-star rating.
Seven airlines achieved a 5-star rating – All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Hainan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Singapore Airlines. Aer Lingus has been rated 3-star and Ryanair 2-star.
Providing Excellent Customer Service is one of five strategic objectives of SAA’s Long-Term Turnaround Strategy, named Gaining Altitude. The Skytrax Star ranking audit examines more than 800 areas of product and service delivery, across airport operations and the cabin experience. SAA’s 4-Star ranking signifies that the airline has achieved a good standard of product across all travel categories, with standards of staff service delivery in both the onboard and airport environments also being well ranked.
“The fact that we are still the only carrier on the African continent to have achieved the high level 4-Star airline rating demonstrates SAA’s continued consistent service delivery,” said Gary Kershaw, SAA UK & Ireland Country Manager. “We have worked hard to ensure this ranking and pride ourselves for providing our customers with the best service possible.”
Edward Plaisted, Chief Executive of Skytrax, said: “SAA has both maintained and improved quality levels throughout the past year, and continue to deliver world-class product and service standard to their customers, making their 4-Star ranking well-deserved.
“This 4-Star Ranking demonstrates that South African Airways passengers can look forward to a high quality of product and service. The Skytrax ranking provides an accurate and independent guide for travellers around the world, and the 4-Star Airline status is a most respected category. SAA has been ranked a 4-Star Airline for a number of years, and we are delighted to see them retain this status for 2014.”
