ATW 2022 Award Winners Span The Globe

Air Transport World has announced the 10 winners of its 2022 ATW Airline Industry Achievement Awards.

The 2022 ATW winners span the globe and will be celebrated at a gala dinner on June 21 in Doha, Qatar. They include US carrier Alaska Airlines, which was named Airline of the Year; Eco-Airline of the Year Widerøe, a Norwegian regional carrier; Cargo Operator of the Year Korean Air; Value Airline of the Year Indian LCC IndiGo; Airline Market Leader Royal Jordanian; and Regional Airline of the Year Canadian North.

In addition, awards will be presented to two individuals who have made important and significant contributions to the global air transport industry. Former Hawaiian Airlines CEO Mark Dunkerley will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award and AerCap CEO Aengus Kelly will receive the Excellence in Leadership Award.

ATW will also recognize the achievements of the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative, or CAAFI, with the Eco-Organization of the Year Award, and L3Harris with the Aviation Technology Achievement Award.

“We are very excited about celebrating the remarkable achievements of our 2022 winners, who demonstrate the continued strength and innovation of this industry,” ATW Editor-in-Chief Karen Walker said.

The 2022 ATW Winners are:

Alaska Airlines: Strong financial and operational performances combined with a deep commitment to and investment in industry-leading carbon emission reduction initiatives won Alaska the top honor of Airline of the Year. The airline also joined the oneworld global alliance, launched the Ascend Pilot Academy for aspiring pilots and implemented network optimization software, Flyways, that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to optimize air traffic and enable more fuel-efficient flight paths for aggregate savings of fuel, carbon emissions and time.

Widerøe: As one of Europe’s largest regional carriers, Norway-based Widerøe has been at the cutting edge of ensuring a sustainable future for aviation. Through its subsidiary Widerøe Zero, it partnered with Embraer and Rolls-Royce to study a conceptual zero-emission regional aircraft, and with Tecnam and Rolls-Royce on an all-electric commuter class aircraft for entry into service in 2026.  

IndiGo: India-based IndiGo is one of the world’s fastest-growing low-cost carriers. IndiGo increased its market share during the pandemic, and as borders reopen, it is continuing expansion into international markets, as seen in the March announcement about restoring flights to Thailand. IndiGo has maintained a disciplined approach to its growth and was one of very few airlines to not defer aircraft deliveries during the pandemic, still taking new Airbus narrowbodies from its massive order backlog.

Korean Air: Last Year, Korean Air was named the ATW 2021 Airline of the Year. Korean has continued to go from strength to strength, remaining at the forefront of addressing the global cargo capacity shortages resulting from the pandemic. Korean is named the 2022 Cargo Operator for being a pioneer in converting passenger aircraft to freighters, launching two new gateways in the US, at Rickenbacker International in Columbus, Ohio, and Chicago Rockford in Illinois, that are helping alleviate American’s supply chain issues. In other innovations, Korean also introduced iCargo, a cloud-based air cargo management system that standardizes cargo service.

Royal Jordanian: The national carrier of Jordan set a vision to be the airline of choice connecting Jordan and the Levant with the world. From its hub at Queen Alia International, the national carrier of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan provides an extensive network for passengers via Amman to Levant, Europe, the US, Canada, North Africa and the Far East. Through its oneworld global alliance partners, that network includes over 1,000 airports in 170 countries. The airline smartly leverages Jordan’s location to attract travelers seeking a rich tourism experience, whether religious, eco and adventure, wellness or history and culture.

Canadian North: In its 76th year, this remarkable carrier is 100% owned by Inuit Birthright organizations and provides essential passenger and cargo services to 25 remote Canadian Arctic communities, most of which have no land or year-round marine access. Canadian North also operates thousands of charter flights each year throughout North America and beyond. It continued operations through the pandemic, upgraded its fleet with Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft and collaborated with Amazon to launch the first delivery hub in the Canadian Arctic. It is an airline with a mission, heart and a dedication to the customers and communities it serves.

Mark Dunkerley: Dunkerley has devoted his life to aviation and the airline business. Among his many accomplishments, he led Hawaiian Airlines from bankruptcy in 2003 to being one of the world's most successful airlines by the time of his retirement as President and CEO in 2018. Previous roles included senior executive positions at Sabena, British Airways and Miami International Airport. A pilot with several ratings up to commercial pilot, he continues his work promoting and safeguarding the air transport business as Board Chair of the esteemed Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.

Aengus Kelly: Kelly continues his distinguished career as a leader and shaper of the global air transport industry. As CEO and Executive Director at Dublin-based AerCap, he leads an aviation leasing company that is the world’s largest owner of commercial aircraft and the most active aircraft trader. Having overseen the successful acquisition of GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), he has created a combined company that owns approximately 2,000 aircraft, over 900 engines and more than 300 helicopters with a highly attractive portfolio, a diversified customer base, an industry-leading team, and an order book of around 400 of the most in-demand new technology assets in the world.

CAAFI: The Commercial Aviation Alternatives Fuels Initiative is a key public-private partnership working to foster the development, commercialization, and availability of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), an essential path to lowering the carbon footprint of aviation over the next two or three decades. CAAFI’s influence is broad and deep and is key to enabling and fostering aviation sustainability ambitions, such as the IATA net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 goal announced in 2021 and the US government’s adoption of a SAF Grand Challenge to replace all of aviation’s jet fuel consumption with SAF by 2050.

L3Harris Commercial Aviation: Ab initio pilot training is a very important part of the process of taking people with little or no flying experience and onto a commercial airline career track that is essential to addressing the global shortage of airline pilots. L3Harris has revolutionized the technology within its Airline Academy, developing and deploying Flight Data Monitoring for its ab initio environment, making it safer, data driven and more measurable. Despite numerous challenges through the pandemics, L3Harris ensured this safety initiative stayed on track and gained momentum.

The 48th ATW Awards, sponsored by CFM International, will be presented at a gala dinner on June 21in Doha, Qatar, at the closing of the 78th IATA AGM and World Air Transport Summit.