CAPA crowns British Airways 'Airline of the Year'

The airline industry's most prestigious award ceremony saw British Airways hailed as the "Airline of the Year." Judges took into account various attributes of airlines and airports before giving them their respective awards. The Aviation Awards for Excellence was held in Malta. Awards like the Best Low-cost Carrier and Best Large Airport were also handed out during the ceremony.

Judges crowned British Airways the Airline of the Year based on the major fleet renewal that the company is undertaking. The Centre of Aviation (CAPA) pointed out that British Airways had added new long-haul aircraft to the fleet. Redesigned lounges, new in-flight meals, the use of new bedding and amenity kits, WiFi, and power outlets on each seat have made the BA flight experience better for passengers.

CAPA chairman emeritus Peter Harbison also mentioned new ticketing practices, distribution change, technology adoption, and high return on interest capital. After receiving the award, BA CEO and Chairman Alex Cruz spoke about how important the award was and what the airline would be looking forward to. Cruz was happy to receive the coveted title as the airline celebrates 100 years since its first regular international flight.

Cruz spoke about how far the airline had come since its first flight from the United Kingdom to France. He recounted that British Airways was the first airline to have lie-flat seats, it was also the first airline with a jet engine aircraft to have flown across the Atlantic, and they even flew with passengers at twice the speed of sound on Concords.

British Airways will be investing £6.5bn to adapt and transform. The investment will focus on transforming the airline into a net zero emission airline by 2050.

The Daily Mail noted a number of other winners crowned by the CAPA judges.

United States based Spirit Airline was crowned the best low-cost airline. After a restructuring period, airBaltic was named regional airline of the year. For returning to profit since 2016, Lot Polish Airline was awarded airline turnaround of the year. Canada based airline Swoop was named start-up airline of the year.

When it came to airports, the Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen was crowned best large airport. Vienna International was named the best medium airport while Seville Airport is the best small airport.

Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde GebreMariam won the best airline executive of the year award.

The winners of all the awards can be seen on the CAPA website.