Vietnam Airlines wins big at World Travel Awards Asia 2019

The awards include Asia's Leading Airline - Economy Class, Asia's Leading Airline - Premium Economy Class, and Asia's Leading Airline Brand. According to Deputy General Director of Vietnam Airlines Nguyen Hong Linh, it was a great honour for Vietnam Airlines to be recognised by the World Travel Awards Asia for the fourth running year. "The awards are a realistic portrayal of the airline's unceasingly efforts to improve it service quality. Besides, this will be a good start for the airline to come closer to the world's finest travel titles at the World Travel Awards Grand Final in Muscat, Oman in November", Linh said. WTA Founder Graham Cooke said that with its tireless efforts to upgrade service quality and fleet, Vietnam Airlines is well deserved with the prizes. He believed the carrier will reap further success in the time ahead.

The World Travel Awards were established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industries.Today, the WTA brand is recognised globally as the ultimate hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which all others aspire. Each year, the World Travel Awards covers the globe with its Grand Tour - a series of regional gala ceremonies to recognise excellence within each continent - culminating in a Grand Final at the end of the year. This year marks a new milestone for Vietnam Airlines as it has launched its Premium Economy class on domestic flights between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with service standards nearly equivalent to those of Business Class. The premium economy class has been introduced in international flights to Japan, the Republic of Korea, western Europe and Australia. Notably, the carrier was ranked by Skytrax as one of the 20 best airlines in the world for this service in 2017.

Passengers flying Economy Class continue to enjoy additional benefits from Vietnam Airlines' extensive fleet expansion programme and 5-star service standards. The arrival of new-generation wide-body aircraft such as the Boeing 787-10, Boeing 787-9, and the Airbus A350 has further provided customers with a new level of comfort, accompanied by the new in-flight Wi-Fi offering. Other service highlights in 2019 for Economy class passengers include add-on options for Vietnamese bread, expanded in-flight entertainment, and so forth.

Las year, Vietnam Airlines was certified with a four-star rating by prestigious international air transport rating organisation Skytrax for the third consecutive year. Its Premium Economy class, available on both the state-of-the-art Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and the Airbus A350 on several international routes, offers generous legroom as well as spacious reclining seats for ultimate comfort.

Vietnam Airlines' four-star services are characterised by a distinctive touch of Vietnam's enchanting traditional culture. FromPho- a tasty traditional dish served on board - to theAo dai(traditional long dress) worn by cabin crew and the signature Golden Lotus logo, passengers can easily recognise Vietnam's most iconic features in the airline's products and services, both in flight and on the ground.

Vietnam Airlines moved to further enhance the in-flight dining experience by appointing Luke Nguyen as its Global Cuisine Ambassador. Luke will re-imagine the in-flight menus, drawing inspiration and influences from the rich Vietnamese culture and cuisine around the world. This partnership comes from a shared ethos of respecting cultural values by designing, preparing and presenting authentic Vietnamese flavours in harmony with on-board dishes. Founded on May 27, 1995, Vietnam Airlines is the flag carrier of Vietnam and the major carrier in the South East Asia, operating 94 routes to 22 domestic and 29 international destinations with an average of 400 flights per day, connecting the world's major cities to mesmerising travel destinations in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

Vietnam Airlines became a member of SkyTeam - a global airline alliance whose 19 members provide access to an extensive global network of 14,500 daily flights to over 1,150 destinations all over the world in 2010, reaffirming the carrier's position on the global aviation map. In 2015, Vietnam Airlines became the first airline in the world to successfully operate both next-generation aircraft Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and Airbus A350-900 XWB at the same time.

Vietnam Airlines has established itself as one of the region's leading airlines thanks to its modern fleet and commitment to innovation and development, earning recognition from international and national communities through a series of prestigious awards. Skytrax - the world's leading airline and airport rating organisation - has ranked Vietnam Airlines as a four-star airline for three consecutive years. Vietnam Airlines was also named "Asia Pacific Airline of the Year" by CAPA in 2017 and several awards from World Travel Awards including "World's Leading Airline - Premium Economy Class" and "World's Leading Cultural Airline" (2017, 2018); Asia's Leading Airline - Economy Class and Asia's Leading Cultural Airline (2016). This achievement is a result of the carrier's tireless dedication to providing the highest quality across a range of products and services.

Vietnam Airlines has spearheaded Vietnam's aviation market - one of the fastest-growing domestic markets in the world - throughout 20 years of development at a double-digit annual growth rate. Positioning itself as a modern carrier with an internationally recognisable brand characterised by Vietnamese traditional culture, Vietnam Airlines aims to achieve the 5-star status and become a major airline in Asia.

(Source: VNA)