“The fact that these awards are directly based on customer surveys makes them the benchmarks of airline excellence,” says Monwabisi Kalawe, CEO of SAA. “Customers are undoubtedly the heartbeat of any business, and Excellent Customer Service is one of the five strategic objectives of our long-term turnaround strategy, Gaining Altitude: to be rated so highly by our customers testifies that we are on the right flight path.”
The awards are based on a consumer satisfaction survey conducted each year by Skytrax, an independent aviation research organisation. This year, the survey elicited responses from 18-million business and leisure air travellers from 160 countries, covering more than 200 airlines, from the largest international airlines to smaller domestic carriers.
The online survey is open for a 10-month period, giving passengers an opportunity to rate their experience in the air and on the ground. It measures satisfaction across 41 key performance indicators of airline front-line product and service including check-in, boarding, on-board seat comfort, cabin cleanliness, food, beverages, inflight entertainment and staff service.
“SAA is the airline with the most awards across the whole of Africa; for example, in January we retained the Skytrax 4-Star Airline ranking, for the 12th year in a row. SAA is the only carrier on the African continent to achieve this high level 4-Star Airline rating, which certifies the good quality of the service we offer across all travel categories,” concludes Kalawe. “But to be singled out directly by our customers is worth everything to us, and a great foundation on which to build an even better airline.”
Early in May, the youth of South Africa voted SAA as the ‘Coolest’ Domestic Airline as part of the 2014 Sunday Times Generation Next Awards. The award ceremony, held in Johannesburg, saluted South Africa’s most popular brands, products, celebrities and sport stars – as voted for by the country’s eight to 22-year olds.
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