World Routes Awards winners named at Berlin Networking Evening

Winners of the World Routes Awards 2011 were formally announced last night at the Berlin Networking Evening, which took place at the site of the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt, nine month

Winners of the World Routes Awards 2011 were formally announced last night at the Berlin Networking Evening, which took place at the site of the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt, nine months before the new airport for Germanyโ€™s capital region is due to open.

The awards, which are voted exclusively by the airlines, included four regional categories: Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa, as in previous years. This year also saw the introduction of two new awards, also voted exclusively by airlines: the best network performance by an airline planning team and the best destination marketing campaign by a tourism authority.

Budapest Airport were named as the winner from the European region, with Los Angeles World Airports honored from the Americas region. From the Africa region, Accra International Airport, Ghana, were ranked top, while the Asia Region saw top honors going to Abu Dhabi Airports Company who was also named as overall winner.

George Karamanos, Vice President of Corporate Marketing and Communications for Abu Dhabi Airport, said: โ€œWe at Abu Dhabi Airports Company are deeply honored to have all our efforts recognized by the airline community. During the past year, we have been focusing on showcasing Abu Dhabi as a growing dynamic destination and the opportunities for airlines to develop from our airport. We believe this success is a result of our understanding of our airlines’ needs and delivering the best support to help them grow their routes.โ€ Karamanos continued: โ€œMoreover, our basic philosophy revolves around having a direct dialogue with all our airline partners for which our pioneering Airline Marketing Blog has been a key contributor. We will continue working closely with both our new and existing partners to provide them with our award-wining support and look forward to welcoming everyone next year in Abu Dhabi.โ€

Winners of the two newest World Routes Awards were AirAsia X for best network performance by an airline and Malta Tourism Authority in the tourism category.

The prestige of the World Routes Awards is largely due to the fact that these widely sought-after awards are solely nominated by the best people to judge the effectiveness of any airport marketing campaign, network performance, and destination marketing campaign – The Airline Networking Planning Community.

โ€œThe World Routes Awards are very highly regarded by airports, as they are the only awards in the industry that reward and acknowledge their marketing to airlines,โ€ said Peter Von Moltke, CEO if UBM Aviation, parent company of sponsor OAG, โ€œI am delighted that we have introduced the new categories this year so the Awards are truly representative of the route development community that has gathered in Berlin, and they are something we hope to further develop in future years.โ€

In addition to the shortlisted finalists nominated by the airlines, the regional winners from each of the regional Routes events from 2011 automatically gained a place in the final judging. A respected panel of industry executives then reviewed the lists and submissions from the nominated airports in order to determine the winners. The panel consisted of the following experts:

– Mr. Markku Nokkala, Chief Network & Planning Officer for Oman Air
– Mr. Buddy Anslinger, formerly of Continental Airlines
– Mr. Bob Hill, Director Network Planning for American Airlines
– Mr. Germal Khan, Senior Vice President for Malaysia Airlines
– Mr. Lee Lipton, Director of Network Planning for Aer Lingus

Speaking about Abu Dhabiโ€™s submission Anslinger said: โ€œAbu Dhabi had a comprehensive submission, covering all the primary points necessary in an excellent fashion, presenting itself in a very slick, professional manner, and all the while retaining the essence of its Middle Eastern roots in its application.โ€

Additionally, Kenya Airways was named as the winner of the Orbis Social Responsibility Award for their โ€œChange makes Changeโ€ program, which enables customers and staff to raise funds to alleviate famine and drought in Northern Kenya.

Routes and OAG are pleased to announce, in full, the list of companies shortlisted under each award category:

Africa

– Accra International Airport, Ghana โ€“ Winner
– Bamako Senou International Airport โ€“ Highly Commended
– Cairo International Airport
– Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport

Americas

– Los Angeles World Airports โ€“ Winner
– Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport – Highly Commended
– Boston Logan International Airport โ€“ Highly Commended
– Oakland International Airport
– Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority
– JFK International Air Terminal LLC

Asia

– Abu Dhabi Airports Company โ€“ Winner
– Singapore Changi International Airportโ€“ Highly Commended
– Auckland International Airportโ€“ Highly Commended
– Bahrain International Airport
– Christchurch International Airport
– Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow

Europe

– Budapest Airport – Winner
– Amsterdam Schiphol Airport โ€“ Highly Commended
– Athens International Airport โ€“ Highly Commended
– London Stansted
– Hamburg Airport
– Munich Airport

Overall Winner

– Abu Dhabi Airports Company

Best Network Performance by an Airline

– AirAsia X โ€“ Winner
– Brussels Airlines
– KLM/Air France
– Delta Air Lines

Best Destination Marketing Campaign by a Tourism Authority

– Malta Tourism Authority โ€“ Winner
– Jordan Tourism Board
– Greek National Tourism Organization
– Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority

Orbis Social Responsibility Award

– Kenya Airways

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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