South African Airways has been awarded the official 4-Star Airline ranking for 2012 by SKYTRAX , the independent, global airline rating organisation. This 4-Star Airline ranking, according to management, recognises the sustained improvement in South African Airways onboard product and service, together with many changes to airport product and service levels. Edward Plaisted, Chairman and CEO of SKYTRAX, said, "South African Airways continues to deliver a solid and respected product and service quality to their customers, and the airline's official 4-Star ranking is well-deserved. “The SKYTRAX star ranking audit examines more than 800 areas of product and service delivery, both on the ground and in the air. “The assessment provides an accurate and independent guide for travellers around the world, and South African Airways passengers can look forward to a high quality of product and service. South African Airways has been ranked as a 4-Star Airline for a number of years, and we are delighted to see that they retain this status in 2012." SKYTRAX is recognised worldwide as the leading, independent authority on airline quality and assessment, and has been completing flight checks with South African Airways during 2011 and extensively examined all product and service delivery areas across both international and domestic routes. South African Airways Official 4-Star ranking signifies that the airline has achieved a good standard of product across all travel categories, with standards of staff service delivery in both the onboard and airport environments also being well ranked.