Hong Kong Airlines wins international acclaim awarded Airline of the Year at ISPY2016

2 min readUpdated Feb 4, 2016Feb 4, 20163:03 AM

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The spectacular ISPY Gala Awards is a core part of the ISPY programme originated in 1999, an annual four-day event for all inflight retail stakeholders groups.At the ISPY (Inflight Sales Person of the Year) 2016 Gala Awards ceremony held in London, full-service airline Hong Kong Airlines won the much-coveted Airline of the Year Award. The airline’s cabin crew Mr Oscar Cheng and Ms Minerva Tam were awarded silver medals in the category of Product Merchandising Team Award, as well as recognized as the World’s Greatest Selling Cabin Crew 2016.

The spectacular ISPY Gala Awards is a core part of the ISPY programme originated in 1999, an annual four-day event for all inflight retail stakeholders groups. Before the announcement of the winners, each of the Airline of the Year finalists is required to have an hour-long workshop including a 30-minute presentation followed by a panel discussion and questions from the audience, while the cabin crew are trained and assessed to compete for team and individual awards. This year, 28 world-class airlines including Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Air Canada participated in the event to compete for the awards.

Hong Kong Airlines wins international acclaim awarded Airline of the Year at ISPY2016

Mr Stanley Kan, Director of Service Delivery of Hong Kong Airlines, said, “Last time, Hong Kong Airlines was the only legacy carrier in Asia amongst the top 4 finalists for Airline of the Year Award, while this year, we are thrilled to be crowned as Airline of the Year – a remarkable progress indeed. Partnering with inflight retail concessionaire DFASS, Hong Kong Airlines has achieved significant improvement in inflight duty free sales services with the launch of innovative initiatives such as professional training and the introduction of the Brand Ambassador Scheme.”

Aside from the ISPY award, in recent years Hong Kong Airlines garnered a bunch of international acclaims including Asia’s Leading Inflight Service 2015 at the internationally renowned World Travel Awards in October 2015. The airline has been rated as the 4-star airline since 2011 by international specialist research consultant Skytrax. Hong Kong Airlines also won Skytrax World’s Most Improved Airline in 2014, and enlisted the top 10 World’s Best Regional Airline for the first time in 2015.

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Questions & Answers

What is the purpose of the ISPY event?

The ISPY event is an annual four-day gathering for all inflight retail stakeholders. It includes the Gala Awards ceremony where airlines and cabin crew are recognised for their performance in inflight sales.

Which other airlines competed in the ISPY awards this year?

This year, 28 world-class airlines participated in the event. These included major carriers such as Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and Air Canada, all competing for the various awards.

What initiatives did Hong Kong Airlines introduce to improve its inflight duty free sales?

Hong Kong Airlines improved its inflight duty free sales services by partnering with DFASS, an inflight retail concessionaire. They launched innovative initiatives including professional training and the introduction of a Brand Ambassador Scheme.

What other accolades has Hong Kong Airlines received recently?

Aside from the ISPY award, Hong Kong Airlines was rated a 4-star airline by Skytrax since 2011. They also won Skytrax World’s Most Improved Airline in 2014 and were listed in the top 10 World’s Best Regional Airlines in 2015.

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