Burj Al Arab, Dubai, 24 March 2018: Continuing the tradition of hosting the award ceremony in exclusive and landmark places, this year ceremony took place in the iconic Burj Al Arab.
The ceremony started with a concert with the distinguished pianist, Mrs Evgenia Votanopoulou.
The jury composed of some of the most prominent figures of the air transport industry selected the winners, namely:
• Henrik Hololei, Chairperson of the Jury & Director General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
• Angela Gittens, Director General, ACI*
• Robert Deillon, Vice President, Hermes – Air Transport Organization
• Ulrich Schult Strathaus, ex Secretary General, AEA
• Salvatore Sciacchitano, Executive Secretary, ECAC
• Charles Schlumberger, Lead Air Transport, World Bank
*Excluding airport categories
“We are delighted and honored to have received, another year running, the highly regarded Air Transport Award for Aircraft Manufacturer of the Year,” said Fred Cromer, President of Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. “Our employees take great pride in the work that they do. Fueled by passion, they strive for excellence on a daily basis to provide the most innovative, efficient and reliable products world-wide. This award recognizes their genuine commitment and dedication and is the ultimate token of their hard work. ”
Barbara Dalibard, CEO of SITA said: “Being named as Service Provider of the Year at the 2018 Air Transport Awards is a significant achievement and a strong validation of our unwavering collaboration and contribution to the air transport community. To be selected by our industry peers for this award is testament that our continued focus on delivering real value to the community is both justified and valued by the industry.”of the winners based on their performance during 2017.
CEO of Changi Airport Group, Mr Lee Seow Hiang said: “We are humbled by the honour of being named ‘Airport of the Year above 20 Million Passengers’. This prestigious award is recognition of the passion from our 50,000 strong airport community, and an affirmation of our continuous drive to put passengers at the heart of everything we do.”
“As we transition into our third decade, Star Alliance has shifted its focus to improving the customer journey by leveraging digital technology. Receiving this award for the second consecutive year is testimony to the fact that we are on the right track, as we continue to roll out further product enhancements together with our member carriers, offering a better Alliance travel experience.” Jeffrey Goh, CEO, Star Alliance
Adel Ali, CEO of Air Arabia: ”We are very pleased to be awarded ATN Editor Choice Award recognizing the achievements that Air Arabia has accomplished over the years. We are proud to see that millions of customers continue enjoying our value driven services since we introduced the low cost travel to the MENA region almost 15 years ago. Such prestigious awards reminds us of the good work we continue to do over the years. I thank ATN for this award which I dedicate to our customers and staff all over the world”.
“I am honored and privileged to receive such a prestigious award, especially that it carries the names of “George and Katerina Iatrou”. I owe almost everything in my career to my airlines’ colleagues, who believed that an association can deliver value to them, and to my team who functions out of passion rather than anything else” said Abdul Wahab Teffaha, Secretary General, Arab Air Carriers’ Organization.
Jeff Poole, Director General of CANSO: “I am highly honoured to receive this Leader of the Year Award. It has been a real privilege for me to lead CANSO for the past five years and to facilitate significant change and improvement in the safety, operations and overall performance of air traffic management. I must pay tribute to the many representatives of CANSO Members, and of course the CANSO staff, for working so tirelessly to make this happen. These are truly exciting times in air traffic management and aviation.”
In particular, the winners by category are as follows:
-Manufacturer of the Year: Bombardier
-Service Provider of the Year: SITA
-Airport of the Year under 20 Million Passengers: Athens International Airport
-Airport of the Year above 20 Million Passengers: Singapore Changi Airport
-Airline Alliance of the Year: Star Alliance
-Airline of the Year: Emirates Airline
-Editor Choice Award – Individual: Catalin Radu
-Editor Choice Award – Corporate: Air Arabia
-“Katerina & George Iatrou” Lifetime Achievement Award: Abdul Wahab Teffaha, Secretary General, AACO
-Leader of the Year: Jeff Poole, Director General, CANSO
“I was very honoured to be asked to chair the jury, and I am very grateful for all the jury members for their hard work. It was extremely difficult to choose the winners of all the categories, because last year was an exceptional year in civil aviation and this presented us a lot of very good candidates for the awards. I would like to warmly congratulate all the winners for this year and wish a lot of success to everyone and hope that 2018 continues to be another excellent year in global aviation.” said Henrik Hololei, Chairperson of the Jury & Director General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
“The Air Transport Awards are the only “industry to industry” awards granted since 2012 recognising the best companies and personalities that improve and contribute to the development of air transportation world-wide. I would like to congratulate the winners for their achievements” stated Dr Kostas Iatrou, President of the Air Transport Awards.