In photos: APEX/IFSA Awards ceremony recognizes industry excellence in Long Beach
AirFrance KLM Group CEO Ben Smith (left) accepts the CEO Lifetime Achievement award from APEX CEO Dr. Joe Leader in Long Beach, California. Photo credit: APEX
The main floor of the Long Beach Convention Center was abuzz with excitement last night as Global EXPO delegates and attendees gathered to celebrate winners of this year's APEX/IFSA Awards.
Presented by APEX/IFSA CEO Dr. Joe Leader, the awards ceremony covered the CEO Lifetime Achievement award, Best In Airline Awards, APEX Five Star & APEX Four Star Airline Awards, and the APEX/IFSA Awards. Find list of winners below, with photos at the bottom in no particular order.
CEO Lifetime Achievement award
- AirFrance KLM Group CEO Ben Smith
2025 APEX BEST IN AIRLINE AWARD Recipients
- Best Entertainment: Singapore Airlines
- Best Cabin Service: Xiamen
- Best Food & Beverage: Qatar Airways
- Best Seat Comfort: Qatar Airways
- Best Wi-Fi: Delta Air Lines
APEX World Class Airlines
- All Nippon Airways
- Emirates
- Japan Airlines
- KLM
- Oman Air
- Qatar Airways
- Saudia
- Singapore Airlines
- Turkish Airlines
- Xiamen Airlines
APEX World Class Airlines
- Japan Airlines First Class Lounge Haneda International Airport (Tokyo)
- Japan Airlines First Class Lounge Narita International Airport (Tokyo)
- Oman Air Business Lounge Muscat International Airport
- The Pearl Lounge, Bahrain International Airport
2025 APEX AWARD WINNERS
Best Inflight Connectivity
- JSX: JSX + Starlink Game-Changing Inflight Internet
Best Inflight Entertainment
- Lufthansa: Taking to the skies with mixed reality: Lufthansa’s & Meta’s pioneering inflight initiative
Best Cabin Innovation
- Qatar Airways: Introducing: Qsuite Next Gen
2025 IFSA AWARD WINNERS
Best Inflight Food or Beverage
- Virgin Atlantic: Virgin Redhead Cocktail
Best Onboard Amenity
- Delta Air Lines + FORMIA: Delta One Missioni Amenity Kit
2025 APEX FOUR STAR AND FIVE STAR RECIPIENTS
(Listed in Alphabetical Order)
Five Star Global
- Aer Lingus
- Aeromexico
- Air Canada
- Air France
- Air New Zealand
- American Airlines
- Asiana Airlines
- Austrian
- Cathay Pacific
- China Airlines
- China Southern Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- El Al Israel Airlines
- Etihad Airways
- EVA Air
- Finnair
- Garuda Indonesia
- Gulf Air
- Iberia
- Korean Air
- LATAM Airlines Group
- Lufthansa
- Qantas
- SAS
- SWISS
- Thai Airways International
- United Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
Five Star Major Airlines
- Air Astana
- Air Tahiti
- Air Tahiti Nui
- Alaska Airlines
- Bangkok Airways
- Fiji Airways
- Hawaiian Airlines
- JetBlue Airways
- La Compagnie
- STARLUX Airlines
- Vietnam Airlines
Five Star Regional Airline
- JSX
Four Star Global Airlines
- Air China
- Air India
- British Airways
- China Eastern Airlines
- Ethiopian Airlines
- South African Airways
Four Star Major Airlines
- Aegean Airlines
- Aerolineas Argentinas
- Air Baltic
- Air Europa
- Air Mauritius
- Air Transat
- AVIANCA
- Brussels Airlines
- Caribbean Airlines
- Cayman Airways
- Condor
- Copa Airlines
- EgyptAir
- Flydubai
- Hainan Airlines
- Hong Kong Airlines
- Icelandair
- ITA
- Kenya Airways
- Kuwait Airways
- LOT – Polish Airlines
- Malaysia Airlines
- Middle East Airlines
- Philippine Airlines
- Porter Airlines
- Royal Brunei Airlines
- Royal Jordanian
- Shenzhen Airlines
- SriLankan Airlines
- TAP Portugal
- Virgin Australia
- Vistara
- WestJet
Four Star Low-cost Carriers
- AirAsia
- AJet
- Avelo
- Azul
- Breeze Airways
- Gol
- IndiGo
- Norwegian
- Southwest Airlines
- Spirit Airlines
- ZIPAIR Tokyo
PAX joins panel of judges for 2024
PAX International and PAX Tech Managing Editor Jane Hobson was a judge in this year’s awards.
“I’m thrilled and honoured that I had the opportunity to be a judge for the first time in this year’s Awards because it offers a unique opportunity to recognize and celebrate the innovations that are redefining the passenger experience in the airline industry," says Hobson. "It was a great celebration!"
Photo credits: APEX
