Rated as a Five-Star Global Airline for the third year in a row, Xiamen Airlines was thrilled to win an even bigger award.
XIAMEN, CHINA – On October 26th local time, the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) announced the winners of a number of different awards including Five-Star Global Airlines and World Class awards. Rated as a Five-Star Global Airline for the third year in a row, Xiamen Airlines was thrilled to win an even bigger award, i.e. World Class award 2023, the most eminent of all APEX awards. Seven other airlines, including Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Japan Airlines, were awarded the same title.
Distinctive Services Earned Xiamen Airlines the Top Award
In late August this year, Mr. Hichem, APEX’s official auditor for rating Xiamen Airlines’ services, flew first class, business class, and economic class with several of the airline’s flights, and was impressed by its crew members’ professionalism, their impeccable services, and their incredible attention to detail. “One of the highlights of this world-class service audit experience is Xiamen Airlines’ s commitment to sustainability,” he said. “As the first airline in the world to support the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, Xiamen Airlines has virtually eliminated the use of disposable plastic products.”
During the audit, the auditor rated Xiamen Airlines’ hardware, software and services with utmost professionalism against the world’s highest standards. He teased out 197 pages, more than forty thousand words of service audit report, recognized Xiamen Airlines’ consistency and integrity of its services throughout the whole chain, including flight safety, punctuality, worry-free checking-in, cabin services, and transfers. “Xiamen Airlines wins this great honor by standing out from a group of the world’s leading airlines,” Hichem said. “It is truly something that is hard earned.”
Innovating to Continuously Elevate Passenger Experience
“The 2023 World Class award represents APEX’s recognition of our high quality services,” said Zhao Dong, chairman of Xiamen Airlines. “We will continue to adopt high standards for our services, and stick to rigorous anti-COVID measures and sustainable, responsible operation to ensure remarkable experiences for all our passengers.”
In 2019, Xiamen Airlines was invited to attend the annual APEX meeting marking its 40th anniversary. Zhao Dong, chairman of Xiamen Airlines, was highly applauded at the event when he delivered a speech in English explaining to the audience how the airline had been trying to be sustainable in support of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Mr. Zhao was also the first Chinese ever to join APEX’s board of governors, which is comprised of leaders of the world’s top airlines such as Delta Air Lines and JetBlue. In the same year, for the concrete actions it had taken in support of the United Nation’s SDGs and its quality service capabilities, Xiamen Airlines received from APEX three other awards, i.e. SDGs Global Visionary Leader Award, Passengers’ Choice for Best Cabin Service in Mainland China, and Passengers’ Choice for Best Food & Beverage in Mainland China.
Since the beginning of this year, Xiamen Airlines has been innovating its services to try to effect changes and breakthroughs in the new landscape of the market. For example, to be more environmentally friendly and promote the concept of sustainability, Xiamen Airlines flew its first carbon-neutral flight this year. It was the first Chinese airline to provide first class passengers with sumptuous “A Starred Journey” meals and wines in collaboration with a three-star Michelin restaurant. Plus, to promote Chinese culture and show the typical Chinese character, the airline launched Tianji Teahouse, a tea-ceremony-based new service system integrating both traditional Chinese tea culture and modern flight cabin services. All these indicate Xiamen Airlines’ commitment to innovation and have been applauded by APEX.
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