Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has been voted Best International Airline-Offline by the travel industry of New Zealand.

The award was recently presented to the airline at the New Zealand Travel Industry Awards 2012 in Auckland.

“The Best International Airline-Offline Award is testament to the strength of the Etihad Airways brand – even in offline markets – and to the value of our partnerships with Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand for codeshare services across the Tasman,” said Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ chief commercial officer.

“It acknowledges the professionalism and hard work of our GSA in New Zealand and I would like to thank The Walshe Group for their continuing support,” he added.

The New Zealand Travel Industry awards are to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the New Zealand travel industry.

Category winners are distinguished by their combination of passionate employees who go the extra mile to exceed customer expectations, company philosophy, values and culture, creativity and innovation in business practices and marketing campaigns, and for operating in a sustainable, socially responsible way. – TradeArabia News Service