Sapphire Pegasus Awards honoring the elite of business aviation

The esteemed Sapphire Pegasus Awards are a unique series of international Aviation awards given to honor outstanding performances, efforts, and inputs by individuals, teams and aviation businesses that have distinguished themselves in the industry. Nominees in fifteen categories proofed outstanding development and achievements over the past. Luxaviation, PrivateFly, Jetex and all other winners will be honoured and celebrated during the Awards Gala Dinner held on June 11 at the Simpson Bay Resort on St. Maarten on the Tuesday night of the Caribbean Aviation Meetup conference.

"It was a delight to see the significant increase in nominations for the category 'Women in Aviation' this year," said Antonia Lukacinova, founder of the Sapphire Pegasus Business Aviation Awards. "For the very first time we also have some winning aviation professionals from Africa. The most demanded categories were 'Innovation in Business Aviation', 'Women in Aviation' and 'Business Jet Operators'. Recognizing the wide-ranging expertise in this dynamic industry, we were especially pleased to add more categories this year; the response to it from industry peers has been terrific. We congratulate all these stellar companies and individuals for their outstanding achievements."

For the great achievement and recognition of the highest level of excellence, the Awards went to the following award winners:

• Business Jet Operator – Lux Aviation, Luxemburg
• Broker – Aircraft Broker, Charter Broker – PrivateFly
• Handler / FBO – TAG Farnborough
• Service Provider – On Air Dining
• Business Aviation Airport – Paris Le Bourget Airport
• Innovation in Business Aviation – UAS International Trip Support
• Lifetime Achievement – Patrick Hansen, Luxaviation,
• Woman in Aviation – Louisa Whyte, Corporate Jet Investor
• Young Talent / Start Up – Alexandria Colindres, The Registry of Aruba
• Charity / Relief Effort – Refilwe Ledwaba
• Business Aviation Journalist / Topic Coverage – Alud Davies, Corporate Jet Investor
• Outstanding Design – Jetex, FBO Dubai
• Outstanding Communication in Business Aviation – 8020 Communications
• Business Aviation Photography – Adriana Rikic
• Outstanding Contribution to Business Aviation Winner – Pilatus Aircraft Ltd
• Outstanding Contribution to Business Aviation Winner – Jenny Lau, CEO of Sino Jet and Asian Business Aviation Association

"It's a real privilege to be on the judging panel for this prestigious event. Examining the entrants and seeing the public perception is a great barometer of where the industry is heading. All the finalists this year were exceptional and it was a tough choice," said one of Advisory Board judges Liz Moscrop, founder of GearUp Media.

The Award for one of the most demanding categories Innovation in Business Aviation went to UAS International Trip Support. Mohammed Husary, UAS Co-Owner/Founder and Executive President commented on their achievement: "We're delighted to receive this award from Sapphire Pegasus. Innovation is key to our strategy at UAS and we're continually investing in technology development and creating new ways of overcoming challenges to enhance the customer experience. Thank you for this wonderful acknowledgement of our commitment to our industry."

Patrick Hansen, CEO, Luxaviation Group was thrilled to win Lifetime achievement and shared: "I have loved every second of the journey since launching Luxaviation in 2008. So far, it has been an incredible journey, in equal parts educational, challenging and rewarding, and it is going to be exciting to continue along this journey in the coming years. Whilst it's always nice to receive personal accolades, there can be no denying that Luxaviation would not be where it is today without the commitment to quality, service and safety shown on a daily basis by our global workforce of more than 1,400 employees. I can assure that with this team in place, we can achieve so much more and so I am curious to see the next 10 years developing". And he ended it with laughter "I am too young for this :-)"

Category of Service Provider recognizes an unrivaled devotion and support to business aviation especially in the aspects of aircraft operation and development and it is the first time when the catering provider company takes pride of Sapphire Pegasus. Daniel Hulme, CEO of On Air Dining was delighted for their team achievement and said: "We are thrilled to win the Sapphire Pegasus Service Provider Award. It is an honour to be recognised by our customers and industry peers for our dedication to providing superior customer support and continually elevating the inflight experience. And a heartfelt thank you to our incredibly dedicated team for their hard work and always putting customer satisfaction first."

Effective communication is critical to driving the success of businesses. This year The Sapphire Pegasus awarded London based company 8020 Communications. Marc Cornelius, founder and managing director of 8020 Communications, says: "Our team is very proud to be part of the business aviation industry and we feel fortunate to count some of its most admired companies among our clients. The successful PR results we achieve are always a collaboration between ourselves and our clients and we're really thrilled to have the hard work and creativity of the 8020 team recognised through the Sapphire Pegasus Awards. We greatly appreciate the honour as it reflects the views of the industry."

Antonia Lukacinova summarised the Sapphire Pegasus Awards by saying: "The increased interest in the Sapphire Pegasus Award shows that the recognition of outstanding performances is widely appreciated and applauded by international business aviation community. Based on previous year's success of Sapphire Pegasus Caribbean Award, we will present the trophy for all winners for their outstanding performances and accomplishments during Gala dinner of the Caribbean Aviation Meetup taking place in Sint Maarten on 11th June."