Qatar Airways, the national carrier of the country, was named “Best Economy Long-Haul Experience” by SKIFT - a leading world travel trends and information provider.

The study, which included all major international airlines, was a comprehensive evaluation of the user experience, designed to “determine the best cabin experiences around the world”.

This distinction joins Qatar Airways’ other coveted titles including “World’s Best Business Class” from Skytrax, which the airline has won for the past two consecutive years.

“Having received such prestigious honours for our Business Class, we are proud to be recognised for our commitment to all of our world travellers,” said Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airway’s Group chief executive.

The final decision was reached by evaluating all aspects of the airline user experience, including website, economy cabin comfort, inflight meals, added perks (wi-fi, in-seat power, etc.) and overall design aesthetic.

“We chose a system which put the very subjective “best” in an objective context,” said Marisa Garcia of SKIFT.

“We also wanted to consider the overall passenger experience point-to-point, and to give ratings which, though always subjective, could be justified as equitable,” she said.

SKIFT’s recognition comes just weeks after Qatar Airways launched the brand-new Airbus A350 from the manufacturer’s headquarters in Toulouse, France. Qatar Airways is the first airline to offer the state-of-the-art aircraft, and successfully completed the inaugural passenger flight, between Doha (Qatar) and Frankfurt (Germany) on January 15. – TradeArabia News Service