Tuesday, September 15, 2009

KL second best for biz travellers, AirAsia is ‘Best Budget Airline in Asia’

06 September 2009

BANGKOK: Kuala Lumpur has been ranked second best for Business in Asia in the SmartTravelAsia.com" target="_blank">SmartTravelAsia.com’s “2009 Best in Travel Poll”.

The city — which was ranked fourth last year — finished behind Hong Kong, which remained the top destination for business, and was followed by Singapore.

Bangkok — which had been in the top three last year — dropped one rung to fourth place.

SmartTravelAsia.com, the region’s dedicated online travel magazine with over one million readers worldwide, said the category took into account the perceptions and actual experiences of business travellers dealing with factors such as the efficiency of transport and general services, signposting, hotels, airports and others.

Malaysia’s low-cost carrier AirAsia was again voted the “Best Budget Airline in Asia” for the fourth consecutive year, polling 38% of the votes, while Jetstar Asia and Singapore-based Tiger Airways came in second and third respectively.

SmartTravelAsia.com said voters of the poll, which ran from May to July, took an average of 12.84 air trips over the past 12 months and earned some US$170,401 (RM606,628) in household income.

About 60% of the voters were based in Asia, mostly in Singapore, China and Malaysia, 20% in Europe and the rest in United States.

Kuala Lumpur also came in fourth under the “Best City for Shopping” category, which was topped by Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok.

The Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) grabbed fourth placing for the “Best Airport” category, behind Singapore’s Changi Airport, Hong Kong International Airport and Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi.

Singapore Airlines grabbed the top spot for the “Best Airlines Worldwide 2009” as well as the “Best Business Class” and “Best Cabin Service categories”.

Malaysia Airlines was ranked eighth.

The islands of Bali, Maldives and Phuket were the top three “Best Holiday Destinations in Asia”, while Langkawi and Penang took the sixth and 10 spots respectively.

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