Abu Dhabi, Sep 27 (IANS/WAM): Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has been named airline of the year 2011 at a global awards gala in London.
Etihad won the TTG Travel Awards for 2011.
Etihad's Diamond First Class was recently judged the best in the world for the second year running by Skytrax, the aviation industry's global rankings system determined by votes of 19 million travellers from more than 100 countries.
James Hogan, Etihad chief executive officer, said: "This award is further recognition of the hard work of all our staff around the world. We are determined 2011 will be a watershed year for us as we strive to break even and then move into sustainable profitability."
The judges said Etihad was a "truly outstanding airline which offered great service and customer experience".