Changi Airline Awards honour top airlines

The airport that serves 89 airlines saw 16.7% growth in passenger traffic and 17.3% in freight.

Changi Airport Group (CAG) on Tuesday night celebrated its strong partnership with airlines at the Changi Airline Awards 2010. The event, which recognises the contribution of airlines to Singapore’s air hub status, was graced by Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Raymond Lim. Held at Regent Hotel, this is the fifth annual Changi Airline Awards and the first since the formation of CAG in July 2009.

Awards were presented in six categories including the top airlines for passenger and cargo carriage as well as the fastest growing carriers for passengers and cargo. A new Partner of the Year award was also introduced to honour a Changi partner for its collaboration with CAG and for outstanding contributions to developing the air hub, according to a Changi Airport announcement.

The Partner of the Year award was presented by Minister Lim to Mr Onno Boots, Regional Managing Director for Southeast Asia & India of TNT, in recognition of TNT’s strategic efforts to develop Singapore as its Asian regional hub in its global network. Since 2008, when it picked Singapore as one of two destinations for its first freighter flights into Asia, TNT has grown its Singapore presence from just operating as a gateway to a regional hub. This has culminated in its S$20-million Singapore Regional Hub facility, Singapore’s first integrated air and road hub linking Singapore through Southeast Asia into China.

TNT’s Mr Boots said, “Singapore is a critical business hub for the region and key to TNT’s global strategy to establish our position in emerging platforms and promising markets, including Asia in which we are determined to further grow. TNT’s Regional Hub at Changi Cargo Complex is a reflection of our commitment and is truly an integrated air and road hub that links our air services to TNT’s unique 7,650 kilometres Asia Road Network. We are planning to increase our flights to and from Changi soon.

“We are honoured to be recognised by Changi Airport Group with its inaugural Partner of the Year award. Much of our success can also be attributed to Changi Airport’s commitment to assist partners like us in facilitating our growth and development plans, for which we are most thankful.”

The Top 10 Airlines by Passenger Carriage and Top 10 Airlines by Cargo Carriage categories saw the debut of AirAsia and Air Hong Kong respectively. Awards were also given to airlines from the different regions which registered the highest growth in passenger traffic last year. The awards went to Tiger Airways (Singapore), Cebu Pacific Air (Southeast Asia), Cathay Pacific (Northeast Asia), Sri Lankan Airways (South Asia), Jetstar Airways (Southwest Pacific), Qatar Airways (Middle East) and Lufthansa (Europe).

For cargo carriage, the top five airlines by growth – Air Hong Kong, Qantas Airways, Delta Airlines, TNT Airways and China Eastern Airlines – were recognised.

Special Appreciation awards were also presented to the Airline Operators Committee (AOC) and Board of Airline Representatives (BAR) for their support of Changi Airport.

The Changi Airline Awards are of special significance this year as they acknowledge the successful close partnership between Changi Airport and the airlines during the economic downturn last year. Apart from this partnership, Minister Lim also highlighted that the close ties between CAG, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, as well as other government stakeholders are just as important. He said, “The government will always be supportive of Changi and play a facilitative role to ensure its growth. The strength of this tripartite partnership has been a key contributor to Singapore’s position as a major competitive air hub.”

Changi Airport’s traffic growth in 2010 has been healthy. In the first five months of the year, passenger traffic grew by 16.7%, while freight increased 17.3%. The growth puts Changi on track to surpass its record 37.7 million passenger movements handled in 2008.

As at 1 July 2010, Changi Airport serves 89 airlines operating over 5,000 weekly scheduled flights to more than 200 cities in some 60 countries and territories.