EVA Air becomes world’s eighth five-star airline

EVA Air has become only the eighth airline in the world to be awarded a five-star rating by Skytrax.

The Taiwanese carrier had its rating upgraded from four to five stars following a year-long evaluation process which ended in May 2015. The audit process covered more than 800 categories relating to the carrier’s products, services and performance.

“All of us at EVA Air are deeply humbled by this important award,” said EVA’s chairman, Steve Lin. “Skytrax’s five-star rating is a great honour and also a great responsibility. It is extremely gratifying that all of our hard work to keep quality service and safety as our top priorities is recognised.

“The Skytrax five-star rating is truly an award shared by every single EVA staff member and employee. At the same time, this prestigious rating reminds us all that we must never lose sight of our commitment to being the best or falter in our quest to continually improve and innovate,” he added.

Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax, commended EVA for its “high-quality product, supported by outstanding… staff service in both the airport and onboard environments”.

“The five-star airline symbol is recognised throughout the world by passengers, media, airlines and the travel industry as a whole. We are trusting EVA and giving it a lot of responsibility to maintain these high standards. I have confidence that EVA passengers will continue to enjoy five-star travel experiences,” Plaisted added.

EVA Air becomes only the eighth airline in the world to be given a five-star rating, following Asiana Airlines, ANA, Cathay Pacific, Garuda Indonesia, Hainan Airlines, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines.

A large group of carriers have a four-star rating, including Emirates, Thai Airways, British Airways, Qantas and EVA’s main rival, China Airlines. North Korea’s Air Koryo is the world’s only one-star airline.