Lufthansa is ATW Airline of the Year 2019

The trade magazine Air Transport World (ATW) awarded Lufthansa the "Airline of the Year" prize yesterday evening in New York. For the first time in 14 years, one of the most important international awards in the aviation industry goes to a European airline.

"The award recognizes the incredible transformation of this company and the commitment of its management team and employees," said ATW editor-in-chief Karen Walker.

In their tribute to this year's winner, ATW highlighted a wide variety of aspects. Lufthansa has been the first European airline to be awarded a 5-star rating by Skytrax - proof of its first-class customer service on the ground and in the air. In addition, the company is continuously introducing new technologies and services that further enhance the passenger experience, for example biometric boarding at various airports in North America. Lufthansa also remains a leader in the field of sustainability.

Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, accepted the award in a festive ceremony in the presence of high-ranking representatives of the international aviation industry. In his acceptance speech, he emphasized the achievements of the more than 135,000 employees of the Lufthansa Group: 

"Lufthansa is a strong brand with an incredible heritage, a large customer base with exceptionally loyal frequent fliers, a great capacity for innovation we are in particular using for digitalization. And, a fact which cannot be duplicated: We have the best airline staff in the world”, said Carsten Spohr.

Last year, Carsten Spohr received the ATW Industry Leadership Award.