The Payload Asia Awards 2017 returned for its sixth edition, with more than 90 nominations vying for the 20 awards categories and more than 25,000 online votes received in the Customer Choice Awards. All results – from both Customer Choice and Industry Choice – were audited by an independent auditing firm, Alpes Assurance. The awards seek to honour the very best in the industry and took place over a spectacular gala dinner and awards ceremony, held at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, Singapore. Gracing the event was the guest of honour, Glyn Hughes, global head of cargo, International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Confronting and overcoming the manifold challenges in the air cargo sector by creating innovative products and services, and delivering real value to customers is the hallmark of the companies excelling in this industry. The Payload Asia Awards 2017 looked to celebrate these traits and the perseverance, innovative strategies and many other successes of the air cargo community in the face of unprecedented market conditions and ongoing economic uncertainty.
For the highly coveted title of Overall Carrier of the Year, Qatar Airways Cargo and Turkish Cargo walked away with the Industry Choice Award and Customer Choice Award respectively. This year marked the second consecutive year that Qatar had walked away with the Industry Choice Award title for the Overall Carrier of the Year.
This year, Ethiopian Airlines snagged both Industry and Customer Choice Award for the Rising Star Carrier of the Year, a testament to its standing in the industry. Other carriers picking up awards included: All Nippon Airways, Singapore Airlines Cargo, Swiss WorldCargo, United Cargo, VietJet Air Cargo, AirAsia Cargo, Atlas Air and Volga-Dnepr Airlines.
Hong Kong International Airport and Singapore Changi Airport were awarded the Industry Choice and Customer Choice for the Asia Pacific Airport of the Year respectively. Ground handling awards saw the same trend of Singapore and Hong Kong dominating the category, with Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) and SATS taking home the top prize in this category. Meanwhile, Leipzig/Halle Airport and Liege Airport were the winners in the European Airport of the Year category.
Chapman Freeborn Airchartering and Air Charter Service again emerged victorious in the Charter Broker of the Year category this year, whereas ECS and Air Logistics Group championed the GSA/GSSA of the Year category this year. Other highlights saw All Nippon Airways (ANA) and flydubai Cargo both winning X-Factor Awards for their unique and highly successful business strategies. Lufthansa Cargo and Thai Airways snagged the Corporate Social Responsibility Award, and DHL Express and Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) took home the Green Award. IBS Software and Unisys were awarded IT Provider of the Year.
In the express provider categories, DHL Express and FedEx Express took home the award for Global Express Provider of the Year, and SF Express and Kerry Express took home the award for Regional Express Provider of the Year. Kerry Logistics and Crane Worldwide Logistics were awarded Global Logistics Provider of the Year, and Hong Kong Air Cargo Industry Services (Hacis) made a clean sweep for the Regional Logistics Provider of the Year.
Among the 23 awards given were three special Editor’s Choice Awards. The Lifetime Achievement Award, which honours an industry veteran who has made an extensive and invaluable contribution to the air cargo industry over many years, went to Tony Tyler. Before he retired in June 2016, he was Director General and Chief Executive Officer at The International Air Transport Association (IATA). Preceding the five-year tenure at IATA, Tony was Chief Executive of Cathay Pacific Airways in Hong Kong.
Also under the Editor’s Choice Award category, Emirates SkyCargo was awarded Marketing Award of the Year, and Lufthansa Cargo took home Media Award of the Year.
Dual tracks
Payload Asia, a respected voice of the air cargo industry which has now been publishing for over 30 years, continued its unique awards approach. Kicked off three years ago, the approach features two, parallel sets of awards for each category: The Customer Choice Awards and the Industry Choice Awards – highlighting two equally important but slightly different views of excellence, one based on popular votes and the other on a detailed assessment by senior industry executives.
The Customer Choice Awards carry on the previous years online voting system by customers and Payload Asia readers, with all results officially audited by an independent auditing firm. The Industry Choice Awards on the other hand, are determined by a senior level industry panel of 16 judges drawn from across the industry and assessed via a points system based on the published criteria, with the process and results also audited. A full list of awards and winners can be found below.
The awards were presented during a gala dinner attended by more than 200 members of the air cargo fraternity from around the globe, and hosted by Payload Asia, part of the Contineo Media group.
The Gala Awards Dinner was preceded by a two-day conference programme and both will return again next year. It is anticipated this event will continue to be an important highlight on the air cargo industry’s calendar.