JetBlue voted best cabin staff ...Upstart scores with travelers; Hong Kong= =20 wins best airport By Jon Bonn=E9 MSNBC June 8 =97 Defying its big-league competitors, Low-fare airline JetBlue=20 scored a nod for the best cabin staff in North America =97 while major U.S.= =20 carriers didn=92t rank within the top five, according to a new survey from= =20 British research firm Skytrax. And despite worries about the SARS virus,=20 Hong Kong=92s international airport was again rated the best in the world by= =20 travelers. THE SURVEY of 1.8 million travelers, released Monday by the London-based=20 firm, showed a clear preference by American travelers for underdogs.=20 Rounding out the top five list for North America were Midwest Express (now= =20 Midwest Airlines) =97 known for its wide seats and warm cookies served on=20 real china plates; Canadian low-fare entry WestJet; low-fare stalwart=20 Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines. For JetBlue, it was yet another=20 score in its ongoing battle against major U.S. competitors. Service on=20 JetBlue flights is comparatively minimal =97 with drinks but no meals served= =20 and in-flight entertainment consisting of seatback TVs. =93This award is an= =20 incredible honor but certainly no surprise,=94 said JetBlue spokeswoman= Fiona=20 Morrisson. =93Skytrax voters have confirmed what we=92ve always known: that= =20 JetBlue=92s crew members are the best and the friendliest in the skies.=94 The low results for major U.S. carriers countered the results of another=20 report earlier this year, which showed service among big airlines was=20 improving. This year=92s Airline Quality Rating, by the University of=20 Nebraska at Omaha and Wichita State University, ranked US Airways with the= =20 best service among major carriers, followed by Alaska. Southwest, the only= =20 low-fare carrier that was evaluated, came in third. That report=92s authors= =20 noted improvement by every major U.S. airline in 2002 except Northwest and= =20 American Eagle. They also found that one of the Skytrax winners =97 Alaska = =97=20 ranked worst in on-time performance, though Alaska was least likely to lose= =20 a bag or bump a passenger. As for the overall global rankings,=20 trans-Pacific carrier Malaysia Airlines enjoyed a third year at the top,=20 followed by SriLankan Airlines, Asiana, Taiwan=92s China Airlines and Qatar= =20 Airways. Just as major U.S. carriers were locked out of the top slots for= =20 their region, European carriers did not break the global top 10, a possible= =20 reflection of the contraction and turmoil in the European market. Even more= =20 than in the United States, low-fare competitors have hammered at flagship=20 carriers, and fading government support forced at least two airlines =97=20 Sabena and Swissair =97 out of business. Swissair=92s successor, Swiss=20 International Air Lines, took the top slot in the European category. No=20 British carrier broke the European top five, though Aer Lingus was in fifth= =20 place. The strong showings for Asian airlines came despite a withering year for=20 the regional industry there. Airlines such as Cathay Pacific and Japan Air= =20 Lines have furloughed hundreds of workers and slashed the number of flights= =20 amid scant interest from travelers in other regions. Praise for Asian air=20 outlets persisted despite the downturn. As Skytrax noted in a statement=20 accompanying the results: =93The recent months have been difficult for the= =20 airline industry around the world, and none more so than across many parts= =20 of Asia where the SARS virus has devastated air travel.=94 That strength was= =20 also reflected among airports as Hong Kong=92s sparkling new facility took= =20 yet another accolade. It also won last year=92s survey and its Cathay= Pacific=20 lounge was ranked best in the world by both Skytrax and Forbes magazine. It= =20 edged out Singapore=92s Changi Airport, Dubai International Airport in the= =20 United Arab Emirates, Sydney=92s Kingsford-Smith Airport and Copenhagen=20 Airport in Denmark. The only North American airport among the top 10 was=20 Vancouver, B.C., which ranked eighth. Others in the top 10 included:=20 Seoul=92s Incheon Airport; Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam; Vantaa Airport in= =20 Helsinki, Finland; and Athens, Greece. Vancouver also took the top slot=20 among North American airports, followed by Tampa, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati=20 and Las Vegas. Some 1.7 million travelers voted for the airport survey. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.natalielaughlin.com/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************