Press Releases 2007
European Airports sweep the board at the OAG Airport Marketing Awards 2007
25 September 2007
At a gala ceremony last night (24th September) European airports took the top accolades in all four categories at the OAG Airport Marketing Awards for the third year running.
The event took place at the annual Routes World Route Development Forum in Stockholm, Sweden. The awards, four in all, have equal merit and each one recognises the varying levels of passenger traffic each airport handles.
Amsterdam Schiphol took the honours in the “more than 25 million passengers per year” category, an award it won in 2006. Athens International also retained its title in the “ten to 25 million passengers per year” category. Milan Linate beat off stiff competition in the “5 – 10 million passengers per year” category, and London City Airport won the “Less than 5 million passengers per year” category – repeating its success of last year.
Several airports were “Highly Commended”. These included Aruba International, Dammam King Fahd International, Birmingham International, Sao Paulo Guarulhos International, Istanbul Ataturk International, Zurich, Munich International and Hong Kong International.
Alan Glass, CEO of OAG, presented the awards at the glittering Routes Stockholm Party held at the world-famous Stockholm City Hall. He commented:
“These Awards are highly prized by airports because they are voted for by their industry partners – the airline network planning community. OAG is delighted to sponsor the Airport Marketing Awards again this year to recognise the outstanding achievements of airports in marketing their services to airlines and to the travelling public.”
Wilco Sweijen, director aviation marketing for Amsterdam Schiphol, commented: “The fact that airlines have rewarded our marketing efforts with this award stimulates us to continue our tailor-made approach which we launched this year. We would like to thank all the airlines that have voted for us.“
Maurizio Merenda, commercial director aviation business for Milano Linate, said: “We are very, very pleased with this honour. Milano Linate is at the heart of Europe, connecting all its capital cities, an important factor in helping us to provide an efficient and high quality service to our primary customer group, business travellers.”
Georgios Karamanos, director communications and marketing for Athens International, commented: “This is the third consecutive year we have won this award, and we extend our thanks to our airline partners who have shown great confidence in us. It is very satisfying to identify their needs and then to be recognized for success in meeting them. I wish to thank my communications and marketing team for helping us to become number one once again.”
Bernard Lavelle, commercial director for London City Airport, said: “We are delighted to win again. This recognition by our peers reflects the hard work everyone on the team has put into supporting our airline partners. We are very thankful to have this honour.”
Roll call of winners:
- Less than 5 million passengers per year
Winner: London City Airport (LCY) www.londoncityairport.com
Highly Commended: Aruba International, Dammam King Fahd International
Short Listed: Nantes Atlantique, Shannon International
- 5 – 10 million passengers per year
Winner: Milan Linate Airport (LIN) www.sea-aeroportimilano.it
Highly Commended: Birmingham International, Sao Paulo Guarulhos International
Short Listed: Newcastle International, Nice Cote D’Azur
- 10 – 25 million passengers per year
Winner: Athens International (ATH) www.aia.gr
Highly Commended: Istanbul Ataturk International, Zurich
Short Listed: Baltimore-Washington International, Vienna International
- More than 25 million passengers per year
Winner: Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) http://www.schiphol.nl
Highly Commended: Hong Kong International, Munich International
Short Listed: Frankfurt International, San Francisco International
END
Notes to Editors
Routes, the World Route Development Forum, is an annual event which brings together airports and airlines to discuss and explore new market opportunities.
The Routes Forum revolves around a series of formal, productive and pre-arranged one-to-one meetings between airports and airlines, interspersed with informal networking opportunities.
The Airport Marketing Awards were established in 1997 to honour the very best in airport marketing.
More information about Routes is available at www.routesonline.com