Air N.Z. holds its rating

Press, 2 September 1977, Page 22

Air N.Z. holds its rating

NZPA Staff correspondent Hong Kong.

Air New Zealand has maintained its position as the fifth most popular airline serving the Asian region.

A survey by an American research company, which has been made every three years since 1965, showed that, as in 1973, Air New Zealand ranked fifth on service ratings given by passengers.

Opinions were sought from 6000 regular travellers, interviewers spending about an hour with each putting questions on airline services. Sixty-nine airlines were covered by the survey. The questions were the same as in previous surveys. Most passengers rate in-

flight service as the most

significant part of an airline's work, followed by “good reputation” and sat-

isfactory previous experiences in flying with them.

Singapore International Airlines topped the poll, as it did in 1973. Then came Swissair, Lufthansa, Japan Airlines, and Air New Zealand. Ranked below the New Zealand airline were Cathay Pacific (12), KLM (14), Qantas (19). British Airways (22), Pan American (29). and UTA (32).

The top 10 airlines earned an "excellent” performance classification, the second 10 a “good” classification, and those in the twentieth and thirtieth ranking were simply termed fair, or average.