Category: Airline Wine

The 2024 World’s Best Airlines Revealed

Skytrax recently revealed its annual World Airlines Awards for 2024, which is also known as the “Oscars of the aviation industry” at a gala ceremony in London late June. The big winer this year went to Qatar Airways, the eighth-time winner has scooped the Airline of the Year title in the 25-year history of the awards.

In addition to being named the World’s Best Airline 2024, Qatar Airways also scooped the top awards for the World’s Best Business Class, the World’s Best Business Class Lounge and the Best Airline in the Middle East.

The 2023 Airline of the Year winner, Singapore Airlines, was ranked No 2 in the world for 2024, with Emirates in third place, ANA All Nippon Airways fourth, and Cathay Pacific in fifth position, out of more than 350 airlines included in the survey results.

Here is a list of the “World’s Top 20 Airlines for 2024”

Qatar Airways
Singapore Airlines
Emirates
ANA All Nippon Airways
Cathay Pacific Airways
Japan Airlines
Turkish Airlines
EVA Air
Air France
Swiss International Air Lines
Korean Air
Hainan Airlines
British Airways
Fiji Airways
Iberia
Vistara
Virgin Atlantic
Lufthansa
Etihad Airways
Saudi Arabian Airlines

Global Perspective

In North America, Delta Air Lines received awards as the Best Airline in North America, also collecting the top award for the Best Airline Staff Service for the region.
Singapore Airlines took top honours with the award for the World’s Best Cabin Staff and their First Class Suites continuing to dominate by winning the award as the World’s Best First Class. In one of the most competitive global regions for airline service standards, Singapore Airlines also scooped the accolade for the Best Airline in Asia.

ANA All Nippon Airways achieves the No 4 global ranking, repeating earlier success by winning the award for the World’s Best Airport Services. ANA also won the award for the Best Airline Staff Service in Asia.

Saudi Arabian Airlines wins the 2024 award as the World’s Most Improved Airline, ahead of STARLUX Airlines in 2nd place and PLAY in 3rd position. This award reflects an airline’s Quality improvement across the entire Awards programme, evaluating each airline’s change in the global rating, and their performance in different award categories.

AirAsia was the repeat winner of the World’s Best Low-Cost Airline award, a title it has won each year since 2010. Scoot received a top award as the World’s Best Long Haul Low-Cost Airline.

Spanish airline, Volotea, received the award as the Best Low-Cost Airline in Europe, a great achievement for such a competitive cost airline market. Transavia France was ranked No 2 in Europe, and Vueling in third place.

The award for the World’s Most Family Friendly Airline was won by British Airways. This award covers many aspects of the experience, including family seating policies, family check-in facilities, priority boarding, children’s meals, children’s amenities / toys / activity packs, child specific onboard entertainment, child luggage and policies for carrycot / pushchairs, and the standards of service assistance from ground staff and cabin crew during the family travel experience.

Plaza Premium received the award as the World’s Best Independent Airport Lounge operator, with its Plaza Premium Lounge at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport ranking top in 2024.

Cathay Pacific received the award for the World’s Best Economy Class, with Japan Airlines winning the award for the World’s Best Premium Economy Class.

The Best Regional Airline Awards are for full-service airlines that primarily operate domestic and/or International flights up to approx. 6 hours. Topping the global ratings as the World’s Best Regional Airline is the repeat winner Bangkok Airways, and for the eighth consecutive year has proven to be a true customer favourite.

In the India/South Asia region, Vistara reigns supreme and was again named winner of the Best Airline in India/South Asia award, in addition to Best Airline Staff Service for the region.
Fiji Airways secured the Best Airline in Australia/Pacific for the second time, and also won the award as the Best Airline Staff Service in Australia/Pacific.

Allegiant Air received the award as the Best Low-Cost Airline in North America for the first time, in what is a very competitive LCC market.

Ethiopian Airlines has won the Best Airline in Africa award for the sixth consecutive year, Turkish Airlines was the Best Airline in Europe, Hainan Airlines was named the Best Airline in China and airBaltic won the award as the Best Airline in Eastern Europe.

Turkish Airlines was also recognised for its very high catering standards with the Best Business Class Catering award.

Air France was a multiple winner in 2024, with three awards for the World’s Best First-Class Catering, the Best First-Class Lounge Dining (CDG) and the Best Airline in Western Europe.

Star Alliance collected the award as the World’s Best Airline Alliance and also won the Best Airline Alliance Lounge award for its new Paris CDG Airport lounge.

About the Awards

The World Airline Awards are wholly independent and impartial, introduced in 1999 to provide a customer satisfaction study that was truly global. Travellers across the world vote in the largest airline passenger satisfaction survey to determine the award winners.

Source: Skytrax

French company Zephalto is offering luxury wine tasting in space

French company Zephalto is offering passengers the chance to travel to the stratosphere in a balloon, starting at €120,000 /$132,000 per person in 2025.

Beyond organizing a panoramic viewing experience, Zephalto is also bringing in French luxury and the ‘art de vivre’ with a pre-flight gourmet meal prepared by famous French chefs, followed by a unique wine-tasting experience.

The wine tasting will take place in the Celeste, a metallic-like “spaceship” made from composite fibres to ensure its lightweight and exceptional strength. Its luxurious interior is said to be designed by Parisian interior designer Joseph Dirand.

Zephalto plans to launch the balloon from France on a six-hour experience that will include three hours at its highest altitude — above 98 percent of the atmosphere and twice as high as the average commercial jet. According to The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the boundary of space is at 62 miles altitude, over four times higher than Celeste’s final ascent.

The ship will sit beneath a vast helium balloon “the size of the Sacré Coeur in Paris”, which will push the ship into the stratosphere. The experience will last six hours and will hold two pilots and just six guests.

Because the Celeste will not reach this space boundary, it will not leave the Earth’s atmosphere, meaning passengers will not experience weightlessness. This will make the experience open to anyone without specialist training.

Passengers will be presented with a pre-flight gourmet meal, which the company claims will be provided by a team of famous French chefs, and will then receive a unique guided wine tasting, featuring carefully selected French vintages.

Zephalto representative states: “From regions to grape varieties, discover France from sky and land.”

Pre-reservations for their first year of operation are open with 60 flights planned.

Reserve your seat for this unique experience: https://book.zephalto.com/

 

 

Invivo Air – the world’s first winery airline embarks on its inaugural flight

New Zealand wine producer Invivo took to the skies on January 31st for its first official flight. Traveling from Auckland to Queenstown, 30 guests enjoyed a unique wine tasting at 18,000 ft, a vineyard tour, winemakers’ dinner and an overnight stay at the five-star Hilton Queenstown Resort & Spa.

Over 16 Invivo wines were sampled during the flight, including expressions from Graham Norton and Sarah Jessica Parker’s collections, and wines from the producer’s flagship Invivo range. Wines were also served alongside local Kiwi cuisine such as fresh oysters, West Coast whitebait, Lumina lamb and Stewart Island salmon.

Named ‘Cloud Wine’, the aircraft’s interiors reflect a vineyard aesthetic, with hanging vines, and guests received an inflight magazine.

Upon arrival in Queenstown, flight guests were transported to ‘Legend’s Terrace’, one of Invivo’s oldest vineyards in Central Otago, for a tour and tasting.

In the evening, guests enjoyed a lavish Winemakers’ Banquet-style dinner at Queenstown’s Botswana Butchery, which opened exclusively for Invivo Air. The five-course meal featured dishes such as Freshly Shucked Oysters and Seared Fijian Yellowfin Tuna Tataki – all paired with Invivo’s range of wines and spirits. Guests stayed overnight at the Hilton Queenstown Resort & Spa on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, before returning on the Invivo Air flight the next morning back to Auckland.

“As a Kiwi company, we loved showcasing some of our stunning wine regions, vistas, gastronomy and of course wine to our passengers,” states co-owner, Tim Lightbourne. “We’ve had such positive feedback from our guests, we’re planning our next experience – we’d love to run an international flight for our next trip!”

Future Invivo Air flights are now available from www.Invivoair.com.

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Air France announces 17 renowned chefs that will be creating lounge & inflight dining experiences in 2023

To mark Bocuse d’Or 2023, of which Air France is a partner from January 19 – 23,  2023, Air France has unveiled the names the famous chefs they will be working. 17 talented chefs promoting French excellence will take turns to sign exceptional dishes in La Première and Business, and in airport lounges over the next few months. Air France is the only airline to partner with so many distinguished names in the world of cuisine.

Air France is committed to introducing its customers to the quality and diversity of France’s gastronomic heritage, as part of an increasingly responsible approach, by focusing on fresh, seasonal and local produce and a systematic choice of vegetarian dish in all travel cabins.

A high-flying French dining experience

On board long-haul flights from Paris, French Michelin-starred chefs Arnaud Lallement, Régis Marcon, Anne-Sophie Pic, Emmanuel Renaut and Michel Roth will this year take turns to sign exclusive dishes for Air France on the La Première and Business cabin menus. Mauro Colagreco and Thierry Marx will also be contributing their unique skills to this exceptional team of chefs. With vegetarian compositions, red and white meats from France, and fish from sustainable fishing, all the chefs are committed to showcasing the local produce of their regions in France and sharing their culinary heritage and passion.

In the La Première suites, the company’s most exclusive travel cabins, the Meilleur Ouvrier de France pastry chefs Philippe Urraca and for the first time Angelo Musa will bring an elegant and sweet touch to the menus in this cabin worthy of the finest restaurants.

Air France also offer menus signed by top French chefs on long-haul flights departing from airports worldwide and continues to work with the triple Michelin-starred chef Julien Royer in the La Première and Business cabins on departure from Singapore. Originally from Auvergne, Julien Royer is at the helm of the Odette and Claudine restaurants in Singapore. On departure from Reunion Island, in the Business cabin, the menus are signed by chef Jofrane Dailly from Reunion Island, who works at the Diana Dea Lodge in Sainte-Anne. In 2023, Air France will offer menus signed by chef Olivier Perret on flights departing from Air France’s destinations in Canada (Montreal, Toronto, Quebec and Vancouver). He will focus on offering French gastronomy with fresh ingredients for menus in the Business cabin. Originally from Burgundy, the chef also presides at the restaurant Le Renoir at the Sofitel Montréal Le Carré Doré.

#airfrance #frenchdining #frenchwineandfood #madeinfrance #Avgeek #Aviation #Plane #businessclass #lapremière #finedining #champagne #topchefs #michelinstarred  #michelinstarredchef #winelover #wine #travelling #deliciousjourneys

 

Drinks E-commerce to grow exponentially in three years – IWSR Report

The total value of the e-commerce sector in headline markets is expected to grow at an unprecedented rate between 2022-2025, according to IWSR.

Over the next five years e-commerce sales of alcohol across key global markets are predicted to expand by +66% to reach more than US$42 billion, according to a comprehensive strategic study published by IWSR Drinks Market Analysis.

Among the 16 focus markets examined in the IWSR report (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States), e-commerce value increased by about +12% in 2019, and then by almost +43% in 2020 during the height of the pandemic.

The report states: “Looking ahead to 2025, e-commerce is projected to represent about 6% of all off-trade beverage alcohol volumes, compared to less than 2% in 2018. The greatest forecast e-commerce value growth will come from the US, thanks to average annual growth in the country of about +20%, which will see it become the top global market for online beverage alcohol.”

The newly released IWSR study also found that online business models for alcohol sales are becoming more diverse, leading consumers to increasingly shift between channels and retailers according to their specific needs at any given time.

“In general terms, the online beverage alcohol space can be perceived as two distinct, but overlapping, worlds: more ‘traditional’ e-commerce – often omnichannel or online specialists – accessed via websites and used by older consumers seeking good prices and known brands and who are prepared to wait for delivery; and more ‘modern’ app-driven e-commerce – often on-demand or marketplaces – used by younger legal drinking age consumers willing to pay for rapid delivery and looking for interesting/premium brands,” the report states.

Guy Wolfe, strategic insights manager, IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, commented: “Given the pandemic and overall changing consumer shopping behavior, it’s certainly not surprising that alcohol e-commerce is growing very quickly. But what’s interesting is to see the significant variations that have developed both across and within markets in how different consumer groups shop via e-commerce and what their priorities are.

“E-commerce has clearly become engrained for many consumers, cementing its place as the third sales channel for beverage alcohol purchase,” confirms Wolfe.

 

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