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Qatar Airways, Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, ANA, Emirates, KLM, Oman Air, Singapore Airways, Xiamen, Air France-KLM Obtain Prestigious APEX World Class Award
Friday, November 1, 2024
On the 2025 APEX/IFSA Awards, Qatar Airways, Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, ANA, Emirates, KLM, Japan Airways, Oman Air, Singapore Airways, Turkish Airways, and Xiamen Airways had been honored with the distinguished APEX World Class Award, recognizing their distinctive requirements in passenger expertise. This designation, awarded after a rigorous audit, highlights excellence in security, sustainability, service, and inclusiveness, positioning these airways as international leaders in aviation high quality. Air France-KLM CEO Benjamin Smith was additionally celebrated with the APEX CEO Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing his transformative management. The awards underscore the {industry}’s dedication to elevating service excellence worldwide.
The aviation {industry} lately gathered to have fun its highest achievers on the prestigious 2025 APEX/IFSA Awards Ceremony, recognizing leaders and innovators in passenger expertise, service high quality, and in-flight leisure. Hosted by the Airline Passenger Expertise Affiliation (APEX) and the Worldwide Flight Providers Affiliation (IFSA), the ceremony highlighted the resilience and evolution of the {industry}, with accolades spanning management, sustainability, inclusiveness, and cutting-edge in-flight choices.
The night’s most notable award, the APEX CEO Lifetime Achievement Award, went to Air France-KLM CEO Benjamin Smith. Smith, solely the seventh aviation chief to obtain this honor in APEX’s five-decade historical past, was celebrated for his transformative management at Air France-KLM, a task he has held since 2018. Beforehand, Smith served for 20 years at Air Canada, the place he held varied government positions and made important contributions to the airline’s progress and buyer expertise technique. His tenure at Air France-KLM has seen substantial progress in sustainability initiatives, operational efficiencies, and enhanced passenger companies, solidifying the airline group’s international popularity.
Along with Smith, Joan Filippini, Senior Vice President of Non-Theatrical Gross sales at Paramount Photos, obtained the APEX Lifetime Achievement Award for her 40-year affect on in-flight leisure. Filippini’s profession has been instrumental in evolving the scope of in-flight content material, making high-quality leisure an ordinary for vacationers worldwide. Her contributions have helped airways enrich the passenger journey, remodeling flights into immersive experiences that interact and entertain.
APEX World Class Designation: Celebrating the Better of the Greatest
This yr’s awards launched the distinguished APEX World Class designation, recognizing airways that reveal distinctive requirements in security, sustainability, service, and inclusiveness. Attaining this elite standing had been 9 airways: All Nippon Airways (ANA), Emirates, KLM, Japan Airways, Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airways, Turkish Airways, and Xiamen Airways. These carriers underwent a rigorous audit, assembly the very best requirements set by APEX to earn this accolade. The designation underscores every airline’s dedication to delivering a superior passenger expertise whereas upholding industry-leading security and environmental practices.
Passenger-Voted Awards Mirror Excessive Requirements in Service and Consolation
Within the passenger-voted classes, Qatar Airways emerged as a significant winner, taking house awards for Greatest Meals and Beverage and Greatest Seat Consolation, reflecting its give attention to enhancing passenger satisfaction by premium in-flight eating and seating high quality. Delta Air Traces was acknowledged for Greatest Wi-Fi, whereas Singapore Airways took house the Greatest Leisure award, a testomony to its dedication to providing passengers an intensive choice of high-quality content material.
Xiamen Airways obtained the Greatest Cabin Service award, highlighting its attentive and devoted in-flight hospitality, and Virgin Atlantic was named the Greatest General Airline in Europe, underscoring its popularity for distinctive service and innovation throughout the continent.
Introduction of APEX World Class Lounge Awards
A brand new addition to this yr’s ceremony was the APEX World Class Lounge Awards, recognizing excellence in airport lounge experiences. Japan Airways led this class with its First Class Lounges at Tokyo’s Haneda and Narita airports. Oman Air’s Enterprise Lounge at Muscat Worldwide Airport and The Pearl Lounge at Bahrain Worldwide Airport had been additionally celebrated, showcasing top-notch amenities and luxury that improve the general passenger journey.
Innovation Awards Spotlight Business Progress
The APEX/IFSA Awards additionally celebrated developments in aviation expertise and passenger expertise innovation. JSX gained the Greatest Inflight Connectivity award, whereas Lufthansa was acknowledged for Greatest Inflight Leisure. Qatar Airways added one other win to its honors with the Innovation Award for Greatest Cabin, showcasing its dedication to providing cutting-edge consolation and design. Delta Air Traces, in partnership with Formia, obtained the Greatest Onboard Amenity award, and Virgin Atlantic’s dedication to culinary excellence was rewarded with the Greatest Inflight Meals or Beverage award.
APEX CEO’s Remarks on Business Resilience and Excellence
Reflecting on the achievements of the night, APEX CEO Dr. Joe Chief famous, “This year’s awards reflect the industry’s remarkable resilience and commitment to enhancing the passenger experience. The achievements we’re celebrating demonstrate how airlines and their partners continue to raise the bar in service excellence and innovation.” His remarks underscored the dedication of airways and their companions to adapt to evolving passenger expectations and foster a extra pleasant, related journey expertise.
Up to date APEX Ranking Standards to Elevate Requirements
APEX additionally raised the bar for airline scores this yr, tightening its standards to acknowledge solely the highest airways worldwide. Below the brand new standards, solely the highest 40 airways globally achieved the distinguished 5-Star designation, whereas the subsequent 50 airways had been awarded 4-Star standing. This stricter analysis goals to encourage airways to proceed pushing for excellence and guaranteeing passengers obtain superior high quality throughout all points of their journey.
The 2025 APEX/IFSA Awards have fun the resilience, innovation, and excellence of the aviation {industry} because it continues to redefine requirements for passenger expertise. From management honors to passenger-voted awards, the ceremony showcases how airways are adapting to new challenges, elevating service requirements, and embracing expertise to ship unforgettable experiences for vacationers world wide.
Tags: Air France-KLM, ANA, APEX World Class Award, Emirates, japan airways, klm, lufthansa, Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airways, Turkish Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Xiamen
