Emirates, one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, was named Best International Airline at the Association of Zimbabwe Travel Agents (AZTA) Awards ceremony held in Harare recently.
Report by Melissa Mpofu Business Reporter Emirates manager in Zimbabwe, Raed Al-Rahmah, said the prestigious accolade — which was a result of travel agents choice — was a significant achievement given that the airline had only been operating in Zimbabwe for eight months.
“Emirates takes great pride in providing Zimbabwe with a world-class service, leading the way in passenger comfort, catering and in-flight entertainment. “We thank AZTA for recognising this service,” said Raed Al-Rahmah.
The award was presented by the Zimbabwe Council for Tourism president Glenn Stutchbury and accepted on behalf of the airline by Emirates sales executive Isabel Sachiti. Emirates resumed flights into Zimbabwe with a Dubai-Lusaka-Harare service operated by an A330-200 aircraft.
Yesterday, the airline underlined its commitment to Zimbabwe by increasing its flights to Harare from five times a week to a daily frequency.
In a statement, Jean Luc Grillet, senior vice-president of commercial operations for Africa, said the move was testament to the continuous upward growth in demand for flights to and from the continent.
“A daily service to Lusaka and Harare will mean greater choice for customers, while an increased cargo capacity of 40% will facilitate more export business opportunities for both countries, forging greater trade links and increasing access to key trading partners in Asia and the Middle East,” he said.
