Travel Weekly is pleased to announce its second annual Readers Choice Awards to honor the finalists. Our readers cast their votes in 38 categories through an open-ballot process online. They identified leaders that demonstrated the most outstanding product and service in the past 12 months.
The candidates in each category were selected as finalists representing the highest standards of service and excellence. Winners of the Readers Choice Awards 2004 will be announced at our Night of Celebration gala dinner at the St. Regis Hotel in New York tonight. Proceeds from this event will again help support the efforts of the Nyumbani Village Project in Nairobi, Kenya, and Tourism Cares for Tomorrow (formerly the Travelers Conservation Foundation).
Travel Weekly will announce the winners in the Jan. 3 issue. The following is a roundup of the finalists for the 2004 Travel Weekly Readers Choice Awards:
Airlines
American Airlines, Dallas
www.aa.com
American Airlines and its American Eagle and American Connection regional carriers serve more than 250 cities in more than 40 countries with 3,800 daily flights. The fleet of its network contains more than 1,000 aircraft. American is a founding member of the Oneworld alliance, a partnership of airlines worldwide that together serve more than 575 destinations in 135 countries.
Nominated: Airline, Domestic; Airline, International
British Airways, London
www.britishairways.com
British Airways worldwide route network covers 216 destinations in 94 countries (including franchises, subsidiaries and partners in the Oneworld alliance). The carriers main operating bases are Londons two main airports, Heathrow and Gatwick. Services include flat beds in the Club World business cabin and a fourth cabin, World Traveller Plus.
Nominated: Airline, International
Continental Airlines, Houston
www.continental.com
Continental Airlines is the worlds sixth-largest airline with more than 3,000 daily departures in North America, Europe and Asia, carrying about 51 million passengers a year. The airlines hubs are in Newark, Houston, Cleveland and Guam. It applied for DOT approval to start flights in 2005 between Newark and Beijing and Shanghai, which would make it the first U.S. carrier with a nonstop service between the New York metro area and China.
Nominated: Airline, Domestic
Delta Air Lines, Atlanta
www.delta.com
Delta Air Lines, the worlds second-largest airline in terms of passengers carried, celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2004. The carrier offers daily flights to 496 destinations in 88 countries on Delta and its Song, Delta Shuttle and Delta Connection partners. Deltas marketing alliances enable customers to earn miles on SkyTeam, a global airline alliance.
Nominated: Airline, Domestic
JetBlue Airways, New York
www.jetblue.com
JetBlue is a low-fare airline that operates a fleet of 69 Airbus A320 aircraft from Kennedy Airport in New York. The carrier operates 262 flights a day and serves 29 destinations in 12 states, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. Seats are leather and equipped with free satellite TVs with 36 channels. Fares are one-way, and a Saturday-night stay is never required for low fares.
Nominated: Airline, Domestic
Lufthansa, Frankfurt
www.lufthansa.com
Already considered an industry leader in onboard service and comfort, Lufthansa added PrivateBed in its business class on long-haul flights in 2004. The beds provide completely flat surfaces, retractable armrests and a massage function. Long-haul flights also were enhanced with Internet access and e-mail service this year.
Nominated: Airline, International
Singapore Airlines, Singapore
www.singaporeair.com
Singapore Airlines passenger route network covers 60 destinations in 33 countries. The airlines route network extends to 133 destinations in 40 countries (including its code-share partners). Singapore Airlines consistently comes out on top in travel polls, winning accolades for onboard service and its first-class product from publications in Europe, the U.S. and Asia.
Nominated: Airline, International
Southwest Airlines, Dallas
www.southwest.com
Southwest Airlines began as a small Texas airline and has grown to become one of the largest in the U.S., serving more than 65 million passengers a year. The airline operates more than 2,800 flights a day to 60 airports in the U.S. SWAs fleet of 400 aircraft is one of the youngest in the nation, with an average age of 9.6 years.
Nominated: Airline, Domestic
Virgin Atlantic Airways, Crawley, England
www.virginatlantic.com
Since its founding 20 years ago, Virgin Atlantic grew to become Britains second-largest international airline. In 2003, the airline launched its Upper Class Suite, with the longest flat bed and seat in the industry. In 2004, the airline, based at Londons Heathrow and Gatwick airports, started flights to Australia, Cuba and the Bahamas and increased flights to the Caribbean and Asia.
Nominated: Airline, International
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