World Routes Awards 2011 Winners Announced

October 4, 2011 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 Germany'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 honoured from the Americas region. From the Africa region Accra International Airport, Ghana were ranked top whilst the Asia Region saw top honours going to Abu Dhabi Airports Company who were also named as overall winner. George Karamanos, Vice President Corporate Marketing and Communications for Abu Dhabi Airport said: "We 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." Karamanos continued: "Moreover, 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." 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. "The 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," said Peter Von Moltke, CEO if UBM Aviation, parent company of sponsor OAG. "I 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." 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 Dhabi's submission Anslinger said: "Abu 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." Additionally, Kenya Airways was named as the winner of the Orbis Social Responsibility Award for their "Change makes Change" programme 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 - Winner Bamako Senou International Airport - Highly Commended Cairo International Airport Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport Americas Los Angeles World Airports - Winner Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport - Highly Commended Boston Logan International Airport - Highly Commended Oakland International Airport Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority JFK International Air Terminal LLC Asia Abu Dhabi Airports Company - Winner Singapore Changi International Airport- Highly Commended Auckland International Airport- Highly Commended Bahrain International Airport Christchurch International Airport Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow Europe Budapest Airport - Winner Amsterdam Schiphol Airport - Highly Commended Athens International Airport - Highly Commended London Stansted Hamburg Airport Munich Airport Overall Winner Abu Dhabi Airports Company Best Network Performance by an Airline AirAsia X - Winner Brussels Airlines KLM/Air France Delta Air Lines Best Destination Marketing Campaign by a Tourism Authority Malta Tourism Authority - Winner Jordan Tourism Board Greek National Tourism Organisation Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority Orbis Social Responsibility Award Kenya Airways Notes to Editors About Routes Routes organises world-renowned airline and airport networking events through its regional and global Route Development Forums. Each year, there is one global event and one regional event in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas and CIS respectively. www.routesonline.com Routes was founded in 1995 as part of the Manchester UK-based ASM Ltd., a consultancy specialising in the field of route development for airports. www.asm-global.com Routes and ASM were acquired by UBM Aviation Worldwide Ltd in August 2010. Routes is a UBM Aviation brand. UBM Aviation specialises in the supply of data and information products, market intelligence, news and events related to the global aviation industry. More information can be found at www.ubmaviation.com For further press information please contact: Victoria Jones PR Executive UBM Aviation Routes Limited T: +44 (0) 161 234 2730 E: [email protected]