And the Airline of the Year Is …

Air Transport World announced the winners of its 39th Airline Industry Achievement Awards.

And the airline of the year is … drumroll, please … All Nippon Airways.

According to ATW: “Japan-based ANA is being honored for its exceptional financial performance, fiscal management, customer service and technology leadership that set the bar for the entire global airline industry.”

As the award criteria would suggest, ATW is an industry trade publication, written for and read mostly by airline employees, industry consultants, and the like. So although customer service and other traveler concerns are among the judging considerations, the focus is on overall business achievement, including financial and technological accomplishments.

The publication has a notably global focus, as evidenced by other winners of this year’s awards:

• Value Airline of the Year: Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling
• Regional Airline of the Year: Florida-based Silver Airways
• Airline Technology Leadership: German flagship Deutsche Lufthansa
• Airline Market Leadership: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
• Joseph S. Murphy Lifetime Achievement Award: Jurgen Weber, former Lufthansa CEO and Star Alliance founder
• Aviation Technology: Sweden’s CTT Systems

Congratulations to ANA.

Disclosure: For a 10-year period, ending in 1997, I worked for ANA as a marketing executive based in the airline’s Los Angeles office.

Reader Reality Check

Have you flown on ANA?

Would it be your choice for airline of the year?

This article originally appeared on FrequentFlier.com.