APEX (Airline Passenger Experience Association)
Members of the Airline Passenger Experience Association and the International Flight Services Association honored their peers in September as they celebrated the top innovators from airlines and vendor partners around the globe during the inaugural APEX/IFSA Award Ceremony. Winners were announced during the ceremony at APEX EXPO. Brian Kelly, CEO and founder of The Points Guy, emceed the event sponsored by gategroup, Paramount Pictures, Spafax and Thales.
“APEX is proud to highlight the most innovative approaches to business in passenger experience from our member airlines and vendors. We honor these organizations who have shown exemplary dedication and innovation to advancing the passenger experience,” says Maura Chacko, co-chair of the APEX Awards Committee.
Winners were determined by industry and media judging panels.
2020 APEX Award Winners are:
- Fiji Airways -Best Lounge Innovation: Fully Qualified Nannies at Fiji Airways Premier Lounge
- SriLankan Airlines – Best Marketing Innovation: Spirit of SriLankan Airlines & The Magic of Vesak
- VT Miltope -Best Inflight Connectivity Innovation: Securing Wireless Cabin Networks for the Future
- American Airlines -Best Inflight Entertainment Innovation: Calm on American Airlines
Newcomer of the Year Award Winner is:
- Flight Center Instituto de Aviación – Flight Attendant VR Training Program
2020 IFSA Award Winners are:
- American Airlines – Best Inflight Food or Beverage: Zoës Kitchen Partnership
- Clip Limited – Best Onboard Amenity: JetBlue Mint Kits
New this year is the APEX/IFSA Awards for Best Cabin Innovation and Best Product or Service. These awards recognize outstanding achievements in creating a thoughtful new cabin environment and innovations in passenger comfort, including seats, design, lighting, temperature control, air quality and more.
2020 APEX/IFSA Award Winners are:
- Astronics – Best Cabin Innovation: Intelligent Bin Solution/Smart Aircraft System
- Air New Zealand – Best Product or Service: Skycouch Improvements
2020 APEX + Crystal Cabin Award Winner is:
- AIRBUS – Best Customer Journey Experience: Connected Experience
During the Ceremony, APEX also honored Brinder Bhatia with the APEX Lifetime Achievement Award. APEX gives this award to individuals whose contributions, innovations, and leadership have generated a significant and fundamental improvement to the nature of airline passenger experience. On Monday, we celebrated Bhatia for his decades of selfless work, vision and dedication to the industry. Over the course of his 40-plus-year career, Brinder Bhatia worked tirelessly to push the industry forward in building both custom and customizable systems that made IFEC central to the passenger experience for virtually every airline. Even in retirement, Brinder Bhatia remains committed to helping airlines transform and build upon their passenger experiences.
The APEX/IFSA Award Ceremony took place during APEX EXPO, an exclusive members-only event attended by more than 5,000 industry professionals, including representatives from more than 125 airlines who drive continuous improvement in the passenger experience, including advances in entertainment and connectivity, comfort and ambiance, catering and other services. APEX and IFSA EXPOs are co-located with Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) Americas.