The hard work, innovative solutions and many successes of the air cargo community were celebrated last night at the Payload Asia Awards 2014, which honoured the very best in the industry at a spectacular gala dinner and awards ceremony held at the Marina Mandarin Hotel in Singapore. Guest of honour at the event was the Director-General of Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), Mr Yap Ong Heng.
The awards cover some 22 categories of the air cargo sector, as well as three special category Editor’s Choice awards, which together are clearly setting a new benchmark among the existing air cargo industry awards. Payload Asia, the respected industry publication for the air cargo sector, now in its 30th year of publication, has raised the bar even further this year by adding a second parallel set of awards, meaning for each category there are now two awards: the Customer Choice Awards and the Industry Choice Awards. We see this as a way of highlighting two equally important, but slightly different shades of excellence – one based on popular vote and the other on an industry panel assessment.The Customer Choice Awards carry on the previous year’s online voting system by customers and Payload Asia readers, with all results officially audited as testimony to their legitimacy. The Industry Choice Awards on the other hand, are determined by a senior level industry panel drawn from across the industry and assessed via a points system based on the published criteria. Again this process has been audited. A full list of awards and winners can be found below.
Among the 25 awards given out was a special Editor’s Choice Award which honoured Des Vertannes, the former Global Head of Cargo at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his untiring work championing the industry.
Emirates SkyCargo took home the Overall Carrier of the Year award in the Industry Choice Award while Turkish Cargo similarliy took the top carrier prize for the Industry Choice Award. Asian carriers predominanted the airline categories with All Nippon Airways, Nippon Cargo Airlines, Thai Airways, Garuda Indonesia Cargo, Hong Kong Airlines, Jetstar Asia and Singapore Airlines all waking away with awards. Top airport in Asia went to Hong Kong International Airport for the Industry Choice Awards, while Singapore Changi Airport took the top award for the Customer Choice Award.
Over 71 companies were nominated for the awards with 21,717 online votes cast for 22 awards in the Customer Choice Awards. All results – both Customer Choice and Industry Choice – were audited by independent auditing firm HLB Atrede.
The awards were presented during a gala dinner attended by more than 200 members of the air cargo fraternity and hosted by Payload Asia, part of the Contineo Media group.
The gala awards and conference held earlier in the day will return again next year in Singapore and it is anticipated this event will continue to be an important highlight on the air cargo industry’s calendar.
| Award Winners 2014 | ||
| Editor’s Choice Awards | ||
| Marketing Award of the Year | Virgin Atlantic Cargo | |
| Media Award of the Year | China Southern Cargo | |
| Lifetime Achievement Award | Des Vertannes (former IATA Global Head of Cargo) | |
| Industry Choice Awards | Customer Choice Awards | |
| Asia Pacific Airport of the Year | Hong Kong International Airport | Changi Airport Singapore |
| European Airport of the Year | Leipzig/Halle Airport | LuxairCARGO |
| Middle East/Indian Subcontinent Airport of the Year | Dubai International | Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad |
| Green Award | SINGAPORE AIRLINES CARGO PTE LTD. | Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad |
| Corporate Social Responsibility Award | SINGAPORE AIRLINES CARGO PTE LTD. | Agility |
| ACMI/Leasing Operator of the Year | Atlas Air, Inc. | Atlas Air, Inc. |
| Charter Broker of the Year | Chapman Freeborn Airchartering | Air Charter Service |
| Ground Handler of the Year | SATS Ltd | Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) |
| GSA/GSSA of the Year | ECS GROUP | AIR LOGISTICS GROUP |
| IT Provider of the Year | Kale Logistics Solutions | IBS Software |
| Regional Express Provider of the Year | World Courier Hong Kong Ltd. | Blue Dart Express |
| Global Express Provider of the Year | DHL Express | DHL Express |
| Regional Freight Forwarder of the Year | Schenker Asia Pacific | The Janel Group of Hong Kong Limited |
| Global Freight Forwarder of the Year | Panalpina | Crane Worldwide Logistics |
| Regional Logistics Provider of the Year | Kerry Logistics | Hong Kong Air Cargo Industry Services Limited (Hacis) |
| Global Logistics Provider of the Year | Agility | Kerry Logistics |
| Low Cost Carrier of the Year | HONG KONG AIRLINES | Jetstar Asia Airways |
| Belly Carrier of the Year | Thai Airways International Public Company Limited. | Garuda Indonesia Cargo |
| Rising Star Carrier of the Year | Qatar Airways Cargo | Etihad Airways |
| Combination Carrier of the Year | Turkish Cargo | ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS CO, LTD |
| Maindeck Carrier of the Year | Nippon Cargo Airlines | ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS CO, LTD |
| Overall Carrier of the Year | Emirates SkyCargo | Turkish Cargo |
