Lufthansa Passenger Airline Group has won this year's top ranking at the World Airline Awards by Skytrax. Lufthansa and Swiss International Air Lines as well as their respective hub airports in Munich, Germany and Zurich, Switzerland were voted best across several categories by passengers from more than 100 countries. A statement issued on behalf of Lufthansa German Airlines by LionSunConsulting, in Lagos, Nigeria, said Lufthansa was awarded Best Airline in Europe, taking over the prize from family member SWISS, which won the title last year. SWISS in return ranked number one in the category of Staff Service Excellence, followed by Austrian Airlines, another member of the Lufthansa Group. Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and British carrier BMI, another Lufthansa subsidiary, jointly serve 15 destinations across the Middle East from their respective hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna and London, Heathrow. Even on the ground Lufthansa and SWISS are offering award winning services, officials say. Lufthansa's First Class facilities are among the sixth best worldwide, according to the survey. Earlier this year, Lufthansa's Munich hub was voted fourth best airport in the world, followed by Swiss International Air Lines' home base Zurich Airport. "We are very proud of the results of Lufthansa and our partner airlines SWISS and Austrian Airlines in Europe. The top rankings for our product and service on board and on the ground are an acknowledgment of our commitment to continuously enhance the quality of our customer service. With their unparalleled European route network, the airlines of the Lufthansa Passenger Airline Group are first choice for travel," says Joachim Steinbach, Lufthansa's Vice President Sales and Services, Southeast Europe, Africa and Middle East/Pakistan. "Skytrax's recognition of Staff Service Excellence for SWISS comes as a validation of our commitment to extend Swiss values such as quality, reliability, friendliness, safety, efficiency and exceptional service - an exemplary 'Swissness'," says Martin Massüger, Director, Head of Sales Middle East, Africa, Pakistan and Iran for SWISS. "It has been five years now since SWISS teamed up with Lufthansa, embarking on a very successful collaboration with Europe's largest carrier. "Swiss's integration into the Lufthansa Airline Group has proved highly beneficial for both carriers and for our valued customers in particular." Lufthansa flies daily from Dubai to Munich and daily to Frankfurt, offering best connections to an unparalleled 123 destinations in Europe and more than 20 in North America. Lufthansa also serves Abu Dhabi six times a week from Frankfurt. SWISS operates comprehensive network of 73 destinations in 39 countries this summer. Deutsche Lufthansa AG is an Aviation Group comprising around 400 subsidiaries and affiliates. The Lufthansa Group has its headquarters in Germany. The group operates in business segments such as passenger transportation, logistics, catering and Information Technology services. Passenger transportation is the group's core business. The airlines engaged in the passenger transportation business are Lufthansa (including Lufthansa Regional and Lufthansa Italia) Austrian Airlines, bmi, SWISS and German wings. The group also has stakeholdings in Brussels Airlines, JetBlue and SunExpress. In 2009, the airlines of the Lufthansa Group welcomed more than 76 million passengers on board their flights, making it Europe's leading airline grouping. Operating through the Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna, London, Heathrow, Brussels and Zurich hubs, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, bmi, Brussels Airlines and SWISS jointly serve 274 destinations in 104 countries on four continents. The group fleet currently consists of more than 720 aircraft - on order are another 146, valued at a total of 13 billion euros at list price and scheduled for delivery between 2010 and 2016. With its ongoing expenditure in fleet renewal, the group is consistently making the fleet more cost-efficient and its operations more environment-friendly. By the end of 2009 the Lufthansa Group employed around 118,000 people. In the 2009 business year, it returned revenues totalling 22.3 billion euros. The group is managed by an Executive Board of four members: Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Christoph Franz, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lufthansa German Airlines, Stefan Lauer, Chief Officer Group Airlines and Corporate Human Resources, and Stephan Gemkow, Chief Financial Officer. Source: GNA