Asiana Named Airline of the Year

Air Transport World Magazine announces the selection of the Korean flag carrier as its Airline of the Year for 2009

Asiana Airlines has been picked as the Airline of the Year for 2009 by the prestigious airline magazine, Air Transport World (ATW). Asiana has been so far recognized as one of the top-rated airlines in surveys by Korean and foreign institutions as the Korean national flag-carrier has made endless investments and efforts toward safety and services in accordance with its management tenet of customer satisfaction through top-graded safety service for the 21 years since its inception on Feb. 17, 1988.
The selection of Asiana as the Airline of the Year means not only that Asiana has gained recognition as one of the world's top-rated airlines, but that it has greatly boosted the standing of the Korean airline industry and has made a mark in the 60-year history of Korean civilian airlines, Korean industrial analysts said.
ATW presents the Airline of the Year Award to an airline that has given excellent performances in all aspects among airlines around the world. This prestigious award, which was inaugurated in 1974, is billed as the "Nobel Prize of the airline community." Asiana is the first Korean airline to win the coveted award.
ATW editors praised Asiana for operating at the highest safety level and maintenance reliability "IFSD" rate and providing services as shown with its designation as one of only a handful of five-star airlines as rated by Skytrax. As to compiling a model safety record, data released by the Association of Asian Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed that Asiana ranked top in on-time performance during the fiscal year 2006/07. Asiana was ranked a five-star airline by Skytrak for two consecutive years and won awards in five categories of the World Airline Awards 2008.
Asiana was given high marks for making massive investments into upgrading in-flight amenities and introducing advanced technology apparatus, including radio frequency identification (RFID). The Korean airline introduced the RFID technology for cargo entrusted by passengers on Gimpo-Haneda flights, which allows excellent recognition and tracking of cargo information. Passengers can track the movement of cargo in real time through the Real Time Location System (RTLS). The airline began to upgrade the in-flight amenities of its 16 passenger aircraft with an investment of 70 million won in May 2006 and will wrap it up with an upgrade of its B767-300s on Feb. 11. Passengers in 15 aircraft upgraded by 2008 ― five B777s, four B747s and six B767s ― can enjoy the movies and music they want through the Audio-Video on Demand (AVOD) system. They are also outfitted with "cocoon" seats and other advanced in-flight amenities.
ATW's editors also cited Asiana's financial performance, with aggregate earnings of $542 million between 2004 and 2007.
Exeter, U.K.-based Flybe was named Regional Airline of the Year.
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy, Chairman and CEO of International Lease Finance Corp., was presented with the Joseph S. Murphy Industry Service Award for his philanthropic efforts that led to the creation of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
UPS Airlines was chosen as the Cargo Airline of the Year.
Naverus received the Aviation Technology Achievement award for its path-breaking work in developing and commercializing Required Navigation Performance (RNP) for use by the world's airlines and air navigation services providers. RNP combines state-of-the art avionics and systems with global positioning system technology to improve safety and efficiency.
Norwegian Air Service ASA was presented with the Market Leadership Award. This award recognizes the Oslo-based airline's successful adaptation of the low-cost model to the Scandinavian air travel market.
Air New Zealand received the Public Relations Award. nw

(left photo) Asiana Airlines President Yoon Young-doo is all smiles after receiving the Airline of the Year award from Airline Transport World co-Publisher Perry Flint in Washington D.C. on Feb. 17. Asiana's upgraded in-flight interior and services.