LONDON - 14th July 2008  :  Hong Kong International Airport has been named the World's Best Airport for 2008, in the worldwide passenger survey results released today by Skytrax. Representing a notable achievement, this is the 7th time in ten years that the accolade has been won by Hong Kong International Airport.

Singapore Changi Airport remains firmly positioned itself at the top end of the rankings, in 2nd position worldwide, ahead of Seoul Incheon International Airport in 3rd place.  Asian airport dominance of the high survey rankings is topped off by Kuala Lumpur International Airport, which moves up into 4th place in the 2008 results.

"We congratulate Hong Kong for their repeated success in winning the World's best Airport title" said Skytrax CEO, Mr Edward Plaisted. "In recent years, the whole air travel experience has become much more focussed on the time customers spend in the airport environment, and Hong Kong has established itself as a clear passenger favourite in this respect."

"The World Airport Survey evaluates a broad spectrum of product and service touchpoints across the airport experience, covering a wide spectrum of passenger types. Hong Kong was particularly notable for gaining highest satisfaction ratings in such a diverse market. Like any other business, an airport is striving to deliver world-class standards that will make a customer want to use it again, and achieving this level of loyalty requires the highest levels of quality consistency - something where Hong Kong was singled out again and again during the survey."

"Over the last 10 years, the Skytrax World Airport Awards have become recognised as the trusted, global symbol of quality for airports," said Edward Plaisted. "Our survey participants represent the most experienced, diverse and discerning travellers in the marketplace, and airports throughout the world recognize the inherent value that comes with their endorsement."

The 2006 title winner, Singapore Changi Airport, is ranked 2nd in the 2008 World Airport Awards, with Seoul Incheon Airport in 3rd, and KLIA Kuala Lumpur moving into 4th place.

"We again saw a very tight finish to this 2007/8 passenger survey, with very close margins seen between the World's Top 3 airports. The opening of the new Terminal 3 at Singapore Changi was clearly visible from results during the survey, with customer satisfaction levels showing marked increases for this airport over the period it was included. We have yet to see what impact the new Concourse Terminal will have upon passenger ratings for Seoul Incheon Airport, with this being too late to have any impact on these 2008 results" said Plaisted.

Munich Airport is again the winner of Best Airport in Europe title, and also ranked 5th in the world - out of more than 190 airports. San Francisco was named Best Airport North America, ahead of Vancouver (2nd) and Dallas/Fort Worth in 3rd position for the region.

In the Middle East passengers have to wait awhile for airport improvements, with the new airports yet to open in Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi. In the meantime, Best Airport for the region is Tel Aviv (1st), Bahrain (2nd) and Muscat (3rd).

Best Airport in Africa is Cape Town, which for the first time has entered the World's Top 10 Airports in 10th position, with Johannesburg ranked 2nd in Africa, ahead of Addis Ababa in 3rd place.


ABOUT THE SURVEY

The World Airport Survey is conducted by UK-based aviation research organisation, Skytrax, with more than 8.2 million questionnaires completed by passengers across the world, during the 10 month survey period.

Passenger interviews include a detailed appraisal for more than 40 categories of product and service quality from check-in to departure, from arrivals to baggage collection - including terminal cleanliness, staff efficiency, staff courtesy, terminal signage, security processing, immigration and customers, walking distances, as well as features like shopping, dining options, internet services.


For more Detailed Survey methodology see    Survey Methodology

Any further enquiries should be directed to:

Mr Peter Miller
Marketing Director
SKYTRAX RESEARCH
E-mail: miller@airlinequality.com