Hainan Airlines Named 2011 Best China Airline by SKYTRAX World Airline Awards

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Hainan Airlines, a leading Chinese carrier as well as mainland China’s only SKYTRAX Five-Star Airline announced that it has won the 2011 “Best China Airline” and “China Airline Staff Service Excellence” awards from SKYTRAX and the Paris Air Show, the world’s largest international aviation event. This is the second consecutive year for Hainan Airlines to win the two awards, and also the third time for the company to be named “Best China Airline” since 2008.

“We are proud and grateful to receive these awards, but they are only representative of our past performance. We still have a lot to learn from our prominent counterparts in the future”

SKYTRAX, a global provider of professional aviation evaluation services, unveiled the 2011 SKYTRAX World Airline Awards as part of the 2011 Paris Air Show series. Hosted every other year in the early summer by GIFAS at Le Bourget Airport in northeastern Paris, the biennial Paris Air Show is the World’s oldest and largest aviation event. Representatives from more than 50 airlines worldwide were present at the award ceremony, which consisted of 6 themes and 60 awards. The winners were selected by SKYTRAX based on a 10-month global survey that included more than 200 airlines worldwide and was attended by 18.8 million passengers from over 100 countries.

In early 2011, Hainan Airline was named as a "SKYTRAX Five-Star Airline,” which, according to SKYTRAX, recognizes those airlines at the forefront of product and service delivery excellence, often setting trends to be followed by other airlines. Hainan Airlines has seen continuous growth of its international business since winning the award. In North America, it now offers direct flights to the United States via Seattle, Wash.’s Sea-Tac International Airport and direct flights to Canada via Toronto.

In presenting the awards to Chen Ming, Hainan Airlines president, the president of SKYTRAX, Edward Plaisted, expressed his congratulations to the company, complementing Hainan Airlines on their ardent growth in the past year and their dedication to maintaining high standards in service and internationalization. Plaisted noted that Hainan Airlines’ distinct Asian characteristics are what set them apart from other airlines, allowing them to be crowned as a five-star airline worldwide.

“We are proud and grateful to receive these awards, but they are only representative of our past performance. We still have a lot to learn from our prominent counterparts in the future,” said Ming. “The five-star honor is just one of many milestones in Hainan Airlines’ history and future. As we maintain our best-in-class services for global passengers, we will continue to strive towards becoming a world-class airline.”

Hainan Airlines’ transition from four to five-star status in just one year represents an impressive achievement that is rarely seen among global airlines. Hainan Airlines’ second-time award win demonstrates Hainan Airlines' strength and influence on the world stage.

At present, there are only seven SKYTRAX Five-Star Airlines in the world, which in addition to Hainan Airlines (mainland China), include Asiana Airlines (South Korea), Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong, China), Kingfisher Airlines (India), Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines.

"In terms of the development trend, three alliances, Star Alliance, Oneworld and SkyTeam, are emerging in the global aviation market, and airlines are entering an era of allied competition. However, airlines that offer distinct services will definitely gain a larger market share over the next ten years," said Plaisted, president of SKYTRAX. "The future competition in the aviation market will become increasingly dependent on services rather than the size and market position of companies."

About Hainan Airlines Co., Ltd.

Hainan Airlines Co., Ltd. ("Hainan Airlines") was founded and began operations on May 2, 1993 in Hainan Province, the largest special economy zone in China. As one of the airlines with most rapid and positive progress, Hainan Airlines commits to provide passengers with quality service and a seamless holistic experience.

Hainan Airlines Co., Ltd. ("Hainan Airlines") is the leading business enterprise in the air transportation division of the HNA Group. It has a fleet mainly comprised of Boeing 737,767 and Airbus A330 and 340 for passenger and cargo transportation. Since 1993, in additional to its main airlines station Haikou, Hainan Airlines has established 8 airline bases in Beijing, Xi'an, Taiyuan, Urumqi, Guangzhou, Lanzhou, Dalian and Shenzhen, as well as an extensive network across China, and connecting Asia, Europe, America and Africa. It has opened nearly 500 domestic and international routes flying to more than 90 cities. Hainan operates international regular flights and offers charter flights to various destinations such as flights between Beijing and Berlin/Budapest/Brussels/Seattle/Novosibirsk/St. Petersburg/Moscow/Khartoum/Phuket/Cairo/ Toronto/Zurich, Hangzhou to Sydney(transfer in Shenzhen) / Hangzhou to Phuket/Beijing to Luanda(transfer in Dubai), Beijing/Xi'an/Dalian/Ningbo/Guangzhou/Haikou to Taipei, Urumqi to Astana, Sanya to Seoul Beijing/Haikou/Hangzhou to Bangkok, Dalian via Hefei to Singapore and others.

Hainan Airlines has been operating safely for 18 years during which it has maintained thorough records of its safety performance. It has repeatedly won the Civil Aviation Administration of China's Golden Eagle Award and Golden Roc Award for airline safety, and in 2008 it won CAAC's Two-Star Award for flight safety. For over ten years, Hainan Airlines has ranked among the best airlines for punctuality, and its service quality has gained wide praise from passengers and the civil aviation industry, winning the Passengers' Airline Choice Award for service excellence repeatedly over 10 years. In August 2008, it received CCTV's 60 Years - 60 Brands Award, the only airline in the civil aviation industry to be so honored. In December 2009, SKYTRAX gave Hainan Airlines the first four-star rating in mainland China, making it the highest rated airline in the country. SKYTRAX also recognized Hainan Airlines as the Best China Airline in the years 2008 and 2010. In January 2011, Hainan Airlines became the world’s "SKYTRAX Five-Star Airline."

Hainan Airlines has become a modern cutting-edge airline. It has been able to integrate the cultural essence of China with the latest Western scientific skills into its corporate culture. By adopting a "Customer First" strategy, Hainan Airlines has been able to offer a comprehensive new range of products and customized services. Dedicated to its management tenets of Honesty, Performance, and Innovation, Hainan Airlines strives to become the preferred airline of choice for passengers and customers and a world-class premier Chinese brand.

For more details, please visit Hainan Airlines' official website www.hnair.com.

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