Etihad Airways lands best international airline title

The TAANZ award recognises the airline’s world-class product and service

Etihad Airways was named Best International AirlineOffline at the 2016 Travel Agents Association of New Zealand (TAANZ) National Travel Industry Awards, held in Auckland.

Voted for by the New Zealand travel industry, the award recognises the airline’s worldclass product and service.

Etihad Airways General Manager for Australia and New Zealand, Sarah Built, who accepted the award on the airline’s behalf, said: “I’d like to thank our travel industry partners throughout New Zealand for their vote of confidence and ongoing support.

“I’d also like to thank the team at The Walshe Group, our general sales agent in New Zealand, for their tireless efforts in representing Etihad Airways in the market.”

Built acknowledged Etihad Airways’ equity partner Virgin Australia and code-share partner Air New Zealand for their contribution to the airline’s success. “As an offline carrier in New Zealand, we rely on the support of our partner airlines to provide seamless trans-Tasman connections to our Australian gateways.

The partnerships we have with these airlines are critical to our success in the New Zealand market.”

Etihad Airways code-shares with Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand from Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown and Wellington to its four Australian gateways, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Etihad Airways general manager for Australia and New Zealand, Sarah Built, who accepted the award on the airline’s behalf, said: ‘I’d like to thank our travel industry partners throughout New Zealand for their vote of confidence and ongoing support.’