OREANDA-NEWS. Emirates received international honours this month winning the Best in Middle East at the 2013 Airline Passenger Experience (APEX) Passenger Choice Awards for the fourth straight time in Los Angeles and the Best Up in the Air Experience award at the Future Travel Experience (FTE) Awards in Las Vegas.

Voted by passengers, the APEX Passenger Choice Awards recognise airlines for service, products, and innovations across ground experience, catering, cabin service and inflight entertainment. A panel of industry experts selects the FTE Awards, which honoured Emirates' dedication to providing the best possible inflight experience.

From left - right: Manzoor Banbhan, Senior Projects Engineer; Patrick Brannelly, VP Corporate Communications, Marketing and Brand; Pam Ann, ceremony emcee and comedienne; and Andy Grant, Manager Passenger Entertainment and Communications with Emirates' APEX Passenger Choice Award.

“Emirates is committed to providing passengers with the richest experience possible and to making them as comfortable as possible-on every flight, to every destination,” says Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline. “We evolve constantly, across the board-from the nuances of our services on the ground to our expansive in-flight products and entertainment-to ensure we remain creative, caring, and engaging for our customers. We thank APEX and FTE for recognising this commitment”

Founded in 1985, Emirates established its commitment to passenger experience early on. Emirates was the first airline to offer complimentary chauffeur drive service to its First and Business Class passengers and in 1992 was the first airline to introduce touch-screen personal video systems in all seats in all classes on every aircraft. Emirates was the first to feature Private Suites in First Class, and its on-board mood lighting to combat jet lag is iconic. After being introduced by Emirates, all these features would go on to become industry standards.

Emirates was also the first airline to allow its passengers to use their personal mobiles while flying, and continues to lead competitors with its on-board offerings. Its award-winning in-flight entertainment system, ice, offers passengers up to 1,500 channels of entertainment and recently the airline introduced capacitive touchscreen technology and even larger screens to its in-seat televisions.

“The passenger experience begins the moment a flight is booked and from that point our goal is to deliver an exceed customer expectations,” said Patrick Brannelly, Emirates' Vice President Corporate Communications Product, Publishing, Digital & Events, who collected this award on behalf of the Emirates team. “The Emirates team works diligently to ensure every aspect of a passenger's journey with us is exceptional.”

Earlier this year, Skytrax named Emirates Airline of the Year, and, for the ninth year in a row, the World's Best Inflight Entertainment