Following the conclusion of the 2011 Skytrax Audits in November last year, SAA has once again achieved a 4-star rating for the 10th consecutive year. This is a major achievement as only five airlines in the world have a Skytrax 5-star rating. Other carriers who boast 4-star ratings include Air New Zealand, British Airways, Emirates, Etihad, Lufthansa and Qantas, to name a few. The announcement of our latest achievement took place on February 1st 2012 in London, where SAA was awarded a certificate by Edward Plaisted, the CEO of Skytrax.
With the support of accolades such as this one from Skytrax, the foremost British aviation-industry expert, SAA can further build on our strategic objectives of positioning the airline to compete successfully in the global aviation market.
The Skytrax ratings are based on qualitative-audits conducted by experienced aviation-specialists who use a rigorous methodology. Every aspect of an airline's front-line quality is evaluated and quantified on both a stand-alone and competitive-performance basis. The ranking is achieved after a detailed product and service standard analysis for each featured airline is received, evaluated and calculated. The star-rating is not connected to customer ratings.
This four-star ranking thus signifies airlines that provide a good standard of product across all travel categories – combined with a high standard of staff service-delivery across on-board and airport environments. Our Skytrax 4-star rating furthermore exemplifies our efforts of last year, when being awarded with the prestigious Skytrax Best Airline in Africa Award for the ninth consecutive year, and also the Skytrax Service Excellence Africa Award for the 2nd consecutive year.