As voted by readers of the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website
Readers of the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website, www.headforpoints.com – some of Britain’s most highly travelled individuals - have voted in their thousands to recognise the best services the UK has to offer for the business traveller.
The inaugural awards, which saw over 4,500 readers cast their votes, seek to highlight the crème de la crème of airline seats, services, lounges, along with airline and hotel reward schemes and other travel innovations, that UK business and frequent travellers hold in the highest esteem.
The 12 category winners voted for by readers were supplemented by six 'Editor's Choice' awards for excellence.
Club Aspire Gatwick South opened its doors in Summer 2019 and has quickly become a firm favourite with business and leisure travellers alike, especially with British Airways passengers who are the main users of the terminal. The old Virgin Atlantic lounge space has been turned into a sophisticated space with good quality food and drink. The existing independent lounges in Gatwick South were frequently full to capacity and Club Aspire has provided a welcome and classy burst of additional space. As well as paying to enter, passengers can gain access via all of the major lounge club card schemes such as Priority pass.
Shaun Weston, Vice President of Global Lounges at Swissport said: “We are delighted to have been presented with this award, which is even more important to us as it is voted for by our guests who have recognised our work in delivering this new lounge experience in the Gatwick South Terminal. We are pleased with the outcome and we look forward to 2020, which will be a busy year in this key airport lounge, which we are sure will be much appreciated by its discerning audience."
Jason Holt, Chief Executive of Western Europe at Swissport said: “Swissport is delighted to have won a Head for Points award in the Best New UK Airport Lounge category. Swissport continues to lead the way in the United Kingdom with its Aspire brand and it’s a testament to our clients, who continue to loyally support us, and our colleagues who have worked very hard to open this new eye-catching Gatwick South Lounge. Such a lead in the market will hopefully translate into more exciting lounges within the United Kingdom for 2020.”
Sharon Jevans, Aspire Lounges Director for Western Europe at Swissport added: “We accept this award with pride on behalf of Swissport and Swissport ALD. The Gatwick South lounge is one of two new airport lounges in Aspire Lounges UK portfolio in 2019, with both already proving to be very popular. 2020 will see the Aspire brand develop further with at least 5 refurbishments of existing, guest favourite Aspire lounges and some exciting additions to the portfolio and offering.”
An Editor’s Choice Award was also given to Manchester Airports new PremiAir lounge. A super-niche offering recently opened at Manchester Airport, PremiAir gives the discerning traveller a highly exclusive experience including private check in and a chauffeured car to the steps of your aircraft, plus unrivalled views of the airport’s busy runway. The terminal – which is totally separate to the main airport building - opened in August this year, so is still very new to the travel industry but was a big hit with Head for Points Editor Rob Burgess when he tried it out. Most importantly, it is priced at a level – from just £50 per person - which means that you don’t need to be able to afford a private jet to try it out.
ABOUT THE AWARDS
With 1.5 million monthly page views, Head for Points boasts the UK’s biggest online audience of frequent flyers, many of whom travel on a weekly if not often daily basis. This discerning group of readers is perfectly placed to have an opinion when it comes to the good, the bad and the ugly of the travel industry.
“But these awards are all about the excellent!” says Head for Points editor and founder, Rob Burgess. “Our team is constantly out reviewing new products and our community of readers gives constant feedback on their own opinions and experiences. We thought it would be a great idea to host our own awards and let our readers decide who is the best of the best.”
As well as the overall winners, some of the categories also include the Editors Choice. Rob Burgess was keen to ensure that some of the more niche or newer offerings were not overlooked. “We endeavour to be one of the first to try out new products and services, so some of the latest innovations may not yet have had the chance to be fully appreciated by the masses – so we didn’t want some of our favourite experiences to be missed out!” he explained.
Burgess continued: “It’s been an exciting year in the business travel industry, which has seen two UK airlines introduce innovative new business class suites, as well as new and refurbished airline lounges and hotels appearing on the travel landscape. Some radical changes to the travel rewards credit cards sector has forced many frequent flyers to reassess the way they spend and book their travel, so this has also been a leveller in terms of which are the most appreciated and valuable.”
“Being some of the most well-travelled in the UK, our readers certainly know their stuff. We’re grateful to everyone who took part in the voting.” concludes Burgess.
The Head for Points 2019 Travel & Loyalty Awards will be presented at a private industry dinner at Quo Vadis in London on 13th January.
www.swissport.com
