Qatar Airlines Worlds Best Airline

Qatar Airways has won the coveted title as the World's Best Airline at the 2011 World Airline Awards, in a ceremony held at the French Air and Space Museum, as part of the 2011 Paris Air Show.

Qatar Airways, based in Doha,  also received the Best Middle East Airline award and the World's Best First Class Airline Lounge award for it's Premium Terminal facility at Doha Airport.

Qatar Airways is the flag carrier of Qatar linking over 100 International destinations from its base in Doha. Using a fleet of 96 aircraft, the airline operates one of the youngest fleets in the world with an average age of less than 4.1 years, and it is one of the few airlines to fly to all six permanently inhabited continents. Qatar Airways is currently undergoing a major expansion and is one of the fastest growing airlines in the world.
Ranked No 1 in the world, Qatar Airways pipped the 2008 winner Singapore Airlines into 2nd place, with Asiana Airlines (2010 Best Airline) in 3rd position. Cathay Pacific Airways retained 4th place from last year, and Thai Airways International was a mover, rising 4 places into 5th position.

Staged as part of the Paris Airshow, the World Airline Awards event takes place on June 22nd 2011.

Mr Akbar Al Baker, the CEO of Qatar Airways, said "Today, I am immensely proud of Qatar Airways and it is an honour on behalf of my workforce and my country to collect this prestigious award and for Qatar Airways to be named Airline of the Year. Since I became the Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Airways in 1997 at the time of Qatar Airways’ relaunch, my goal was simple – for Qatar Airways to reach the pinnacle of the airline industry. At Qatar Airways we always aim at doing the best in everything we do. To be considered as the top airline in the world is a huge achievement and a very rewarding moment in Qatar Airways’ history. It is extremely gratifying to be recognised as “Airline of the Year”, which takes into account the outstanding efforts and hard work of all our employees, as we continuously aim to exceed the expectations of our customers. I also want to thank our customers for their positive response, loyalty and appreciation of our product. It is a great motivation for everyone at Qatar Airways and will stimulate the entire airline’s staff to continuously deliver Five Star excellence and the highest service standards we are renowned for worldwide."