Routes Asia Awards 2013 Winners Announced

MUMBAI, India, March 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Changi Airport Group crowned overall winner at second regional heat of 2013

Earlier this evening during a lavish networking evening on the lawns of the Renaissance Mumbai Hotel, Changi Airport Group was announced as the winner of the Asia heat of this year's Routes Airport Marketing Awards. Over 700 aviation professionals were gathered to witness the presentation of the awards and to take part in the 11^th Routes Asia - the largest route development event for the entire Asia region.

The Routes Airport Marketing Awards recognise and reward the highest standards of marketing activities undertaken by airports. The 2013 awards will see a number of innovations including taking a blended approach to the nomination process, meaning the final nominees will include a number of airports who will be shortlisted using our online voting form together with a number of airports who have been selected by a panel of industry experts drawn from the airline network planning community. This year the awards were split into two categories based on the size of the airport and also a new tourism award for best destination marketing campaign by a tourism authority.

The winner, Changi Airport Group, continue to demonstrate their detailed route development activities and are pushing the boundaries in terms of initiatives. 2012 was a record breaking year for Changi as for the first time in 31 years of operating they welcomed over 50 million passengers through the airport. Changi has also managed to secure five new air services in 2012, bringing their total of weekly scheduled flights up to 6,482. Their "Changi Connects" product, which was launched earlier this year, is a unique product which passengers can purchase and allows bags to be through-connected, even if the airlines are not partners.  

"It has been a great year for Changi Airport Group. To be recognised by our airline partners [with this award] for the hard work our teams have put in to secure new air services is a great endorsement of our achievements," said Toh Ern Chong, Manager Airline Development for Changi Airport Group after collecting the award in Mumbai this evening.

"We constantly strive to innovate to bring an unparalleled level of service to our customers and partners. We believe it is important to understand their needs and work closely with them so as to realise their aspirations of growth at Singapore Changi Airport," he added.

Changi were also named as the winner from the over 20 million passengers category with Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) ranked top from the under 20 million passengers category.  Tourism Australia was honoured as the winner of the first Routes Asia Destination Marketing Award.

Nigel Mayes, VP & Commercial, Routes, commented: "We are delighted to announce Changi as the winner of this regional heat of our awards and would like to congratulate them and all of our winners." Mayes continued: "Over the past 12 months Changi has achieved some amazing results. With Scoot, Drukair, AirAsia Philippines, Shenzhen Airlines and Yangtze River express all commencing operations Changi Airport now has 106 scheduled airlines flying to 240 cities in 61 countries."

As overall winner of this regional heat, Changi Airport Group will be automatically shortlisted for the World Routes Airport Marketing Awards which will take place at the event in Las Vegas, 5^th - 8^th October 2013.  Changi join San Diego International Airport, who were announced as overall winner of the Americas heat last month.

The full list of companies shortlisted under each award category were as follows:

Over 20 Million Passengers

• Changi Airport Group - Winner
• Delhi International Airport Pvt Ltd - Highly Commended
• Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CDIA) - Highly Commended
• Beijing Capital International Airport Co. Ltd.
• Soekarno - Hatta International Airport

Under 20 Million Passengers

• Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC)  - Winner
• Auckland International Airport - Highly Commended
• Bangalore International Airport
• GMR Hyderabad International Airport
• Juanda - Surabaya International Airport
• Kansai International Airport
• Siem Reap Airport

Destination Marketing Award

• Tourism Australia - Winner
• Philippine Department of Tourism - Highly Commended
• Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Singapore Tourism Board
• Tourism New Zealand

Notes to Editors

About Routes

• Routes organises world-renowned airline and airport networking events through its regional and global Route Development Forums. Each year, there is one global event and one regional event in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas and CIS respectively. http://www.routesonline.com

• Routes was founded in 1995 as part of the Manchester UK‐based ASM Ltd., a consultancy specialising in the field of route development for airports. http://www.asm-global.com  

• Routes and ASM were acquired by UBM Aviation Worldwide Ltd in August 2010.  From 1^st August 2012 Routes, ASM and the Airport Cities Conference and Exhibition become part of the UBM Live division of UBM plc.

• UBM Live connects people and creates opportunities for companies across five continents to develop new business, meet customers, launch new products, promote their brands and expand their markets. Through premiere brands such as MD&M, CPhI, IFSEC, TFM&A, Cruise Shipping Miami, the Concrete Show, the Routes portfolio of events, Airport Cities and many others, UBM Live exhibitions, conferences, awards programs, publications, websites and training and certification programs are an integral part of the marketing plans of companies across more than 20 industry sectors. http://www.ubmlive.com

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