ASSOCIATION NEWS Nathan Redner receives a $5,000 scholarship underwritten by Harvey and Laura Alpert. He is shown here with outgoing IFSA President Vicky Stennes, Harvey Alpert and his daughter, Tatiana Alpert
APEX celebrates best commercial IFE offerings with
Passenger Choice Awards
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he winners of the 2011 Passenger Choice Awards were announced at an evening ceremony during the Airline Passenger Experience Association’s (APEX) Annual Conference & Exhibition. APEX, co-located September 1115 with Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas and the International Flight Services Association (IFSA), took place in Seattle. Awards were handed out in 14 categories September 12 by host Peter Greenberg, the Travel Editor for CBS television news. The Passenger Choice Awards, created by APEX and voted on by the traveling public, were designed to recognize the airlines for their service, products and innovations. The Association worked with Nielsen Company, which measures and tracks consumer information. The following were the winners for 2011:
Best Overall Passenger Experience (UP TO 50 IFE EQUIPPED IN FLEET) Virgin America Best Overall Passenger Experience (More than 50 IFE EQUIPPED IN FLEET) Emirates Best in Region/Africa South African Airways Best in Region/Europe Virgin Atlantic Best in Region/Asia and Australasia V Australia Best in Region/Americas Virgin America Best in Region/Middle East Emirates Best Inflight Publication Avianca Best IFE User Interface V Australia Best Inflight Connectivity & Communications Oman Air Best Inflight Video Virgin America Best Cabin Ambiance JetBlue Airways Best Food and Beverage (in conjunction with IFSA) V Australia Best Ground Experience Virgin America Receiving the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award was Sue Pinfold, Executive Vice President of IFE at Spafax. The 2011 Outstanding Contribution Award went to Ken Brady, Chief Engineer for Thales Avionics, Inc. APEX also handed out two Avion Awards to member companies that have enjoyed tremendous success in their field and projects as judged by industry peers and members of the media. The winners were:
Avion Award/Best Achievement in Technology Avion Award/Best Single Achievement in IFE
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
Thales Avionics Air New Zealand
Foundation Scholarship
Winners
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he IFSA Foundation of the International Flight Services Association awarded $28,500 in scholarships during the Conference and Exhibition held September 12-14 in Seattle. Since the first awards were presented, companies and individuals have underwritten more than US$300,000 in scholarships. Several longtime contributors supported the cause again, and some new scholarships debuted as well. The IFSA Foundation Scholarship Awards presentation was conducted on the last day of the yearly conference. Two students were on hand to receive the scholarships. The IFSA Foundation received more than 40 scholarship applications, the largest number of applicants to date. The first to receive a scholarship September 14 was Nathan Redner who was the recipient of the Harvey & Laura Alpert Scholarship for $5,000. Redner is a student at Harvey Alpert’s Alma Mater, Michigan State University where he studies at the college’s School of Hospitality Business. Brinton Atkinson, a student at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, received two scholarships. Harvey Alpert and Company’s Oakfield Farms Solutions Division Scholarship awarded Atkinson $5,000. He also received $2,250 from the Lois Campbell Scholarship. IFSA Member Dave Campbell of the Authentic Italian Products underwrites the Lois Campbell Scholarship award. It is presented each year to in memory of his sister. The recipient must be either a survivor of cancer, or someone who has lost an immediate family member to cancer. Jason Logie a student at Penn State University was the recipient of the Tommy DePaola Scholarship Award of $2,250. The scholarship is also presented to a cancer survivor or a person who has lost an immediate family member to cancer. Two recipients received the IFSA Foundation Scholarship Awards, which based on merit to the children of IFSA member airline employees. The $4,500 scholarships were each presented to Alexis Fowler, a student at the University of Chicago and Sean McLoughlin a student at the Texas State University, San Marcos. LSG Sky Chefs presented an International Management Scholarship Award of $4,500 to Wei Wang, a student at Indiana State University.