Emirates, the Dubai-based international carrier, has been named Airline of the Year 2001 in the largest ever global survey of airline passengers in which 2.7 million votes were submitted over a period of nine months from around the world.

Second position went to Singapore Airlines, with Cathay Pacific third, British Airways fourth and Thai Airways in fifth positions.

Singapore Airlines just missed out in the Best Airline Asia award to Cathay Pacific, while British Airways outranked by Lufthansa for the Best Airline Europe award.

Conducted by Skytrax Research of the UK, the survey asked passengers to rank airlines by the quality of the product and service provided to them. Edward Plaisted, Managing Director of Skytrax said the survey was unique from a number of perspectives.

"This was a truly global voting process and not restricted by influences one often sees with polls conducted on a regional basis. It allows for smaller airlines to compete on an even basis with the world's majors. We do not look at frequent flyer programmes or other commercial influences, but concentrate wholly on the quality of product and service that a customer experiences - the end result portraying a truest picture of a quality airline."
http://www.lanka.net/lakehouse/2001/04/22/bus11.html