Here Are the Winners of the 2017 APEX Awards
And the winner of the Best Inflight Connectivity Innovation award is... definitely the kind of topic that AvGeeks will appreciate. This and a dozen other awards were presented on Monday night at the Airline Passenger Experience Association APEX Awards in Long Beach, California.
For those not familiar with it, APEX is the only non-profit trade organization in the airline industry. It comprises some of the world's top airlines, industry suppliers, major media groups and aviation industry leaders. Its aim: to elevate the passenger experience while moving the industry forward with new initiatives and regulations.
How do the awards work? Each category was judged by nearly 30 APEX members in the first round in order to select three finalists. Then, a final round of judging was completed with a live judging panel composed of industry media experts. And the host at the event this year? None other than TPG himself.
Here are the winners of the 2017 APEX Awards:
Best Cabin Innovation — Airbus Operations, ReTrolley
Best Inflight Connectivity Innovation — Inmarsat Aviation & Deutsche Telekom AG, European Aviation Network
Best Inflight Entertainment Innovation — IAG, Black Swan & Massive, LEVEL Portal
Best Original Audio — Air New Zealand
Best Original Video — Emirates Product Video
Best Passenger Comfort Innovation — Airspace Single Aisle Interior
Best Personalization Innovation — SITAONAIR
Best Video Curation — Virgin Australia's IFE
In addition to the APEX Award winners above, APEX also honored a few other categories with its Passenger Choice Awards — tallied from passenger-submitted data on the Tripit app. APEX awards these awards in five categories.

Here are the winners of the 2017 Passenger Choice Awards:
Best Wi-Fi — JetBlue
Best Entertainment — Emirates
Best Cabin Service — Qatar Airways
Best Seat Comfort — Virgin America
Best Food & Beverage — Qatar Airways
Congratulations to the winners of the 2017 APEX Awards.
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- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
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| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
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Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month

