Air New Zealand Scoops World Travel Award

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STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL 8AM 3 NOVEMBER

Air New Zealand Scoops World Travel Award

Air New Zealand has been named Australasia's Leading Business Class Airline at the 14th Annual World Travel Awards.

Hailed by the Wall Street Journal as the "travel industry's equivalent to the Oscars", the World Travel Awards are considered the most prestigious event on the travel calendar with more than 167,000 travel professionals voting worldwide.

The Award was presented overnight at the World Travel Awards Asia, Australasia & Indian Ocean ceremony in Bangalore, India.

Air New Zealand Group General Manager of International Airline Ed Sims says the airline is thrilled to pick up the award for its Business Premier service.

“We’re immensely proud to receive international acclaim such as this for what we consider to be leading-edge product and service,” he says.

Mr Sims says the award reflects the airline’s investment in a truly innovative business class product that complements its uniquely Kiwi service.

“Our fully lie-flat bed has been a huge hit with our customers and is paying dividends for the airline in both customer satisfaction and seat yield,” he says.

“However, the real point of difference for us as an airline is in our people, and in offering our customers a genuine, authentic New Zealand experience both on the ground and in the air.”

Mr Sims says the airline goes to extraordinary lengths to showcase the very best of New Zealand on its long-haul flights.

“We received fantastic feedback from customers about our New Zealand-focused menus, developed by our consultant chefs Rex Morgan, Peter Gordon, Geoff Scott and Govind Armstrong,” he says.

“Our wine selection is carefully chosen by our wine consultants Kate Radburnd, Jim Harre and John Belsham and represents a wide variety of New Zealand styles and regions. In February this year the quality of our selection was recognised at the UK Cellars in the Sky awards, where we won Best Business Class Red, Best Business Class Cellar and Most Original Business Class Cellar.”

ENDS

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