Now in its second year, the Individual Award for Outstanding Contribution to Route Development category will shine a spotlight on the people who make the aviation industry tick, propelling growth in route networks and connecting cities across the globe.

All of these individuals were selected for their incredible achievements over the last 12 months. All of our shortlisted individuals in the 2017 awards can be found here.

The finalists

Gabriel Schmilovich Isgut
Director network strategy, development and planning, Vueling

Gabriel joined Vueling Airlines in February 2012 and entered the inaugural Individual Award for Outstanding Contribution to Route Development.

Since then, Gabriel has been designing a more robust network with more resistance to operating challenges. With 105 aircraft operating 350 routes – of which 14 are new – Gabriel and his team increased total capacity by 5 percent and aircraft productivity by 4 percent while reducing seasonality. They also reactivated lapsed routes like Barcelona-Valencia, improving the connectivity of Valencia with Europe.

Working with partners at capital airports like Rome, Amsterdam and Paris, Vueling has improved its product, service, operations and customer experience. It has also enhanced its presence in Granada, Florence and Zaragoza, which Gabriel believes deserve further exploration.

Vueling also joined forces with Iberia Airways to develop a new walk-on air shuttle service between Madrid and Barcelona. Gabriel hopes to win this award not only for himself but his entire Vueling team.

Jonathan Cheong
Head of aviation business development, Adelaide Airport

Adelaide Airport achieved success in 2017. Its international capacity grew by 5 percent year on year as international passenger movements grew by 4.7 percent. Domestic and regional capacity grew by 1.5 percent and passenger movements grew 2.7 percent, proving Adelaide’s ability to absorb capacity.

In 2017, Adelaide Airport welcomed Fiji Airways’ flights to Nadi, saw its first Dreamliner from Air New Zealand’s upgauge from an A320 and celebrated the first anniversary of Adelaide’s inaugural China direct service through China Southern Airlines.

It also welcomed the introduction of Jetstar’s Hobart service, which was its largest unserved domestic route, and QantasLink’s new service to Kangaroo Island, among others.

Adelaide Airport was honoured to have won in the Routes Asia Marketing Awards’ 4-20 million passenger category in 2017 and 2018. The Team Adelaide approach of Adelaide Airport, South Australian Tourism Commission and Tourism Australia allowed the airport to experience these successes.

Jesper Klausholm
Head of airline relations and marketing, Billund Airport

For Billund Airport, 2017 was another record-breaker, becoming the eighth year in a row of growth at the second largest airport in Denmark.

Overall, 3.4 million passengers passed through the terminal, which represents an annual increase of 9.2 percent; 2018 started equally well with traffic growth of more than 7 percent in the first six months. Billund Airport has recently welcomed new airlines, including SunExpress, Widerøe, Wings of Lebanon and LOT Polish Airlines as well as new scheduled services to Athens, Iasi, Bergen, Beirut, Vienna, Warsaw, Antalya, Berlin, Poznan and Lisbon.

Jesper has headed up the airline relations and marketing team at Billund Airport for ten years. By his own admission, Jesper has an almost geeky interest in the aviation industry. His career in the sector began with an MSc in Air Transport Management from Cranfield University. From there, the only way was up.

Kristi Bennett-Holmes, C.M.
Deputy director of aviation – commercial development, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is the gateway to one of the most exciting cities in the world. It has witnessed record-breaking passenger counts during the past three years, serving more than 12 million passengers in 2017, up 7.8 percent year-on-year. It has outpaced national airport growth of 2.3 percent and 5.3 percent for medium hubs.

In 2017, the airport’s recruitment efforts resulted in eight new destinations and two new airlines with British Airways and Condor, re-establishing transatlantic services that had not existed since the early 1980s.

As of May 2018, passenger counts had increased by 12.6 percent year-on-year, with total capacity increasing by 12.4 percent. Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is the largest commercial airport in Louisiana, serving more than 84 percent of all passengers. The airport has placed significant focus on lowering the airlines’ cost per enplanement to ensure long-term success in the New Orleans market.

Neringa Öhrström
Aviation marketing manager, London Stansted Airport

Neringa joined London Stansted Airport in 2015 and has been developing the aviation marketing function while working with existing and new airline partners to drive business growth.

London Stansted Airport is one of the UK’s fastest growing and one of Europe’s highest growth airports for direct connectivity. Passenger numbers reached a record high of 26.1 million in 2017, up 7.4 percent, and ACI reports a 43 percent increase in direct connectivity since 2013, placing London Stansted in the top five of the fastest-growing large European airports.

Key direct destinations added in the past year and promoted through strategic marketing initiatives include Dubai with Emirates; New York, Boston, Washington DC and Toronto with Primera Air; Reykjavik with WOW Air, as well as Corsica with Air Corsica.

With plans to serve up to 43 million passengers annually, new airlines, a growing long-haul network and a £600m investment programme, the airport is really taking off.

Wilco Sweijen
Director route and business development, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Wilco joined Amsterdam Airport Schiphol after graduating. After various roles at the airport, Wilco discovered route development in 1998. At that time, Schiphol managed 80 airlines and 200 destinations. Today, there are 101 airlines and 326 destinations.

Passenger numbers have seen good growth and reached 68.4 million passengers in 2017, an increase of nearly 8 percent on 2016. Schiphol is currently the number three airport in Europe. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol’s route and business development team has achieved several major accomplishments in the past two years.

Since 2016, eight new airlines and 37 new destinations have been welcomed at Schiphol while a further 87 new routes have been added by airlines. Recent newcomers to the airport with which Wilco was involved include Jet Airways, Air Mauritius, China Eastern Airlines, Xiamen Air and Qatar Airways.

Jasper Spruit
VP traffic development, Avinor

Jasper joined Avinor in 2015 to work on the ambitions of the Norwegian airport operator.

Norway is an upcoming, trendy destination with great opportunities for airline network expansion. During the past years, the focus has been to make Norway and Avinor better known to the public and to build constructive and sustainable business cases.

There have been many additions to the network in recent years. Norwegian has grown its network overall, SAS has opened various new routes and Widerøe is now operating most of its jets out of Bergen Airport.

To cater for long haul, there is a team member in Hong Kong and one in Seattle. Jasper’s greatest pleasure and pride is that his team be nominated for the fourth time in a row for the prestigious World Routes Marketing Awards, which, he believes, is a great way to affirm that they are on the right track.