The second Sapphire Pegasus Awards were presented during a gala dinner at the Boscolo Hotel in Prague on 28 April. This year's winners included GlobeAir (business jet operator), Stratajet (broker), Euro Jet Intercontinental (handler), London Oxford airport (airport), Jet Port (outstanding performance in Russia), My Sky/My Jet (innovation), Bernhard Fragner (lifetime achievement), Carol Cork (woman in aviation), VistaJet (social media integration) and Signum Aviation (start up company).

Andi Alexander, MD of London Oxford airport, says: “We are very happy with this recognition, especially so because we were judged by our industry peers. It is an acknowledgement of all the hard work by our excellent team and the investments we've made in our business over recent years.”

During the 30 days of online voting, 28,633 votes were cast for the 78 nominations in 12 categories. Compared to last year there was a 32 per cent increase in the number of nominations, which resulted in a long list of 115. The supervision and the final selection process was determined by the votes of eight international judges from the board of advisors.

“We are pleased to join the awards team in celebrating the highest levels of professionalism in our industry and are pleased to see that many of the winners of this prestigious award are members,” states EBAA CEO Brandon Mitchener.

Founder Antonia Lukacinova was particularly pleased with how the evening went: “The increased interest in the Sapphire Pegasus Awards shows that the recognition of outstanding performances is widely appreciated and recognised by the international business aviation community. Based on this year's experiences, we will enhance the programme and extend its reach beyond Europe. For instance, this year we will introduce the award to the western hemisphere by presen-ting the trophy for four outstanding performances and accomplishments during the Caribbean Aviation Meet-up on the island of St Maarten in the Dutch West Indies. For next year, we envision further international developments.”