On December 4, 2017, Lufthansa received a fifth star from British aviation consulting specialist Skytrax, becoming the first carrier outside Asia and the Middle East with five-star certification from Skytrax. Earlier, the rating service gave five stars to Lufthansa’s first class, and now the entire airline received the award.
The carrier attributed its achievement to the investment Lufthansa made in its fleet – the airline updated all cabins, introduces digital services, and opened new lounges.
“The combination of premium offerings with the quality and professionalism of our employees has earned Lufthansa the status of a five-star airline,” Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Board of Deutsche Lufthansa said in an official statement. “I am convinced that the most important factor in getting the fifth star was that we have the best airline employees.”
According to CEO of Skytrax Edward Plaisted, the achievement of 5-Star airline status by Lufthansa “is not only a great accolade as the first European airline to reach this target, but is a clear recognition of the improvements they have made in recent years, particularly in all areas of the frontline service delivery.”
Skytrax team evaluates the service quality of the airline in up to 800 categories, including the service on board, seat comfort, catering, security measures, in-flight entertainment, duty-free offers and other services. The consistency and constancy with which Lufthansa has forged ahead with the modernization of its product was a key consideration in the decision to award the fifth star, the rating service stated. Lufthansa also scored points with the new Lufthansa app and a wide variety of digital services on the ground and on board. The company also took into consideration a new Lufthansa’s business class that will be rolling out in 2020 with the Boeing 777-9.
In addition to its airline ratings, Skytrax also issues an annual ranking of the most popular airlines. At the 2017 World Airline Awards, based on the survey responses of 19.8 million passengers from 105 different countries, Lufthansa won the award for the best airline in Europe – and seventh worldwide.
Skytrax has been conducting passenger surveys regarding the quality of airlines and airports since the 1990s. So far, only ten airlines worldwide have succeeded in obtaining the highest rating.
Source – AeroTime
