Air Berlin crowned best low-cost carrier

class="size-full wp-image-19751 alignright" title="Air Berlin" src="http://news.cheapflights.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/air-berlin.jpg" alt="" width="315" height="198" />Air Berlin has been hailed as the best low-cost carrier in Europe at the 11th annual World Airline Awards, which were held in Hamburg yesterday.

The no-frills carrier won first prize in the coveted category, followed closely by British airline easyJet in second place and Norwegian Air in third.

Air Berlin was also ranked the overall second-best low-cost carrier in the world, trumping Australia’s Virgin Blue but trailing first-place AirAsia.

The awards were based on Skytrax’s World Airline Survey, which canvassed customer satisfaction across 35 criteria between July 2009 and April 2010.

Skytrax chairman Edward Plaisted praised the scope of the findings, calling them a “truly global study” that offers the most comprehensive and objective analysis of passenger experiences available.

“The geographic spread of survey interviews is supported by the fact that over 100 different nationalities of airline passengers participated,” he said. “And more than 200 airlines are included in the final results.”

The World Airline Awards also recognised global carriers that offer the best quality service in Economy Class, crediting Malaysia Airlines, href="http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/airlines/Qatar-Airways/">Qatar Airways and href="http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/airlines/Singapore-Airlines/">Singapore Airlines.

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