Klia Awards 2015 Signifies Malaysia Airports Commitment To Transform As A Service Leader

SEPANG - The prestigious Malaysia Airports’ KLIA Awards returns to recognise the best in Malaysian aviation industry and also to reward its partners for their outstanding performance and services.

KLIA Awards was first introduced in 2006 to acknowledge and motivate all KLIA business partners that relentlessly push the boundaries of distinction in their fields, enabling KLIA to further advance in service excellence. Since then, it has gained reputation as one of the most important events in the calendar of the nation’s aviation industry.

The gala dinner awards ceremony which was held at Sama-Sama Hotel KLIA was attended by approximately 400 guests. Winners were chosen based on their 2015 achievement in sectors such as passenger movements, growth factor, sales performance, international recognition as well as their service excellence.

The theme, ‘Total Airport Experience (TAE)’, is in line with Malaysia Airports’ intention to transform itself from an airport operator into a service leader. TAE is also one of four strategic pillars outlined in its five-year business plan, Runway to Success 2020 (RtS2020). As the success of TAE hinges on the collaboration between Malaysia Airports and the whole airport community, the event theme serves as a reminder to all retailers, airlines, government agencies and partners to place passenger experience as priority.

YB Dato’ Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Minister of Transport Malaysia, who was the guest of honour had said in his speech, “It is the hope of the Ministry to see better services not only by the airport operator but from all within the airport community to uplift its service standards. On behalf of the government, I would like to applaud all who are here today for playing a role in ensuring that our aviation sector remains strong and resilient.”

The chairman of Malaysia Airports had, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr Wan Abdul Aziz Wan Abdullah had also stressed that, “Catering to the increasingly sophisticated needs of passengers who are no longer awed by world-class infrastructure alone, it becomes increasingly important for an airport operator to place high priority on ensuring that our airport users have a joyful experience and every touch point.”

He also highlighted that KLIA has continued to see not only the entry of new airlines but also the introduction of new routes and increase in frequencies from existing airlines. Among others, the airport had welcomed VietJet Air from Vietnam while KLM had increased their frequency to ten weekly flights for their Kuala Lumpur - Amsterdam route. In October, All Nippon Airways had introduced a new direct route to Haneda Airport, Tokyo from KLIA.

Japan Airlines had also introduced its Dreamliner 787-9 aircraft, for which Kuala Lumpur was its first destination in Asia to welcome the airline that will service the Narita – Kuala Lumpur route daily. Further to that, for its 70th anniversary, Ethiopian Airlines also introduced its 787 Dreamliner servicing Kuala Lumpur - Addis Ababa route.

All this had contributed to the commendable growth rate in passenger traffic movement in 2016 for its Malaysia operations. Passenger traffic movement for the first nine months of 2016 grew by 4.4% compared to the same period last year and this had exceeded the initial traffic forecast for 2016 at 2.5%.

As an airport operator, Malaysia Airports is committed to building a strong and mutually beneficial relationship with all its airline partners to facilitate their growth. Malaysia Airports is also grateful for the continuous support from the government of Malaysia which will enable KLIA to further strengthen its position as the preferred ASEAN hub while at the same time continue enhancing the level of comfort and convenience for passengers.