The race for the title of Middle East’s best airline continues, this year, Arabia’s airline companies were busy trying to reserve a spot in the top airlines lists that were issued by Skytrax Research and Travel + Leisure Magazine, but seems like 2008 holds even more titles and lists, Maktoob Research revealed the outcomes of their “The TravelMonitor” survey, which had been conducted on 2,457 frequent travelers from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. The Dubai-based air carrier Emirates Airline was voted the region’s top airline.
The survey revealed that Saudi and UAE travelers prefer to use their national airline companies, Saudi Airlines was rated the most expensive airline by Saudi travelers and yet it is the most widely used carrier among Saudis. The situation in the UAE is the same, Emirates Airline is the most widely used air carrier by UAE travelers, although they rated is as the most expensive airline.
Satisfaction:
Emirates Airline scored highest in overall satisfaction, 8.5/10 among Saudi travelers, and 8.3/10 among UAE’s travelers
Both Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways scored 7.8/10
Brand Awareness:
Emirates Airline scored 85% among UAE travelers
Saudi Airline scored 92% among Saudi travelers
Usage:
Emirates Airline scored 39% among UAE travelers
Saudi Airline scored 81% among Saudi travelers
Value-for-Money:
Majority of Saudi travelers voted for Etihad and Emirates in the Value-for-Money category
UAE travelers voted for Qatar Airways as the most value-for-money airline
Budget-Driven Travelers?
The low-cost air carrier Sama Airlines became the second most widely used carrier in KSA jumping from 1% in 2007 to 18% in 2008
Read more in their press release
