SIA, Changi are the best

SIA, Changi are the best

HONG KONG (AFP): Singapore Airlines (SIA) and the city-state's
Changi Airport swept the board in the OAG Worldwide annual
industry awards announced here Tuesday.

Frequent business travelers voted SIA the world's best airline
for its services to the Asia-Pacific region, its short-haul first
and business class flights as well as its long and short-haul
economy services, a statement said.

Australia's Qantas pipped SIA for best Pacific airline and
best frequent-flyer program, preventing the Singaporean flag
carrier from a clean sweep in the coveted industry awards,
international travel information publisher OAG said.

Singapore Changi was voted for the fourth consecutive year as
Airport of the Year, the OAG statement said.

In an additional prize the Indonesia manager for British
Airways and Qantas, 27-year-old Briton Claire Hatton, was given
an "Outstanding Service" award for her role in evacuating about
2,000 foreigners during savage riots that rocked Jakarta last
May.

Hatton, who was also given a "People of the Year" award by
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, was chosen "for her bravery
and dedication" in keeping her office open "long after others had
closed," the statement said.