The award gala was held on Thursday, January 15, at Sobanski Palace in the centre of Warsaw. The ceremony was attended by nearly a hundred guests, including managers of airlines, Polish airports, car rental companies, as well as representatives of brands offering electronic devices for corporate customers, and large Polish tour agencies.
Business Traveller Awards have a rich history. They are organized by most of the 11 national editions of Business Traveller, including Business Traveller China, Business Traveller Middle East, Business Traveller America, and Business Traveller Africa. The British monthly has a long history: it was established in London in 1976, and the annual Business Traveller Awards galas attract managers of airlines and hotel chains from around the globe.
“This is the second time we meet in Poland. I would like to congratulate all winners. We want business travellers to have a reliable and best-in-class magazine which conducts clear surveys of airlines, hotels, and new technologies, and covers lifestyle topics in an attractive way. The Business Traveller Awards are a reliable guide to good travelling in demanding times,” Robert Grzybowski, publisher of the Polish edition of the magazine, said at the gala.
The Polish edition of Business Traveller has been published for 5 years with a total number of 20,000 print copies monthly available at the best chained-brand hotels across Poland, and to business class passengers on flights departing from Poland’s major airports. BTP is also available as an e-edition on board of LOT’s Dreamliners, and on-line at the Media Boxes of several airlines and hotel chains in Poland and abroad. Each month, 70,000 unique users visit the magazine’s website: www.businesstraveller.pl.The multimedia editions of BTP for iPads and Android-based tablets also have a large group of readers.
Conducted online by the advisory company Deloitte (which also provided the final report), the Business Traveller survey inquired about the best airports, hotel chains and airlines. The survey was taken by nearly 750 respondents, including the readers and subscribers of Business Traveller Poland, including members of the Polish Business Roundtable Club, as well as business travellers served by the largest business travel providers in Poland, such as HRG, Carlson Wagonlit, Airclub, and Weco Travel.
The respondents are a representative group of Polish business travellers. More than half of them (52 percent) are aged 40-59, while nearly a third (31 percent) are between 26 and 39 years old. 57 percent of them are men, and 43 percent are women. The great majority of the respondents (84 percent) live in Poland’s major cities. As far as occupation is concerned, they are mainly managers (33 percent), presidents and members of executive boards (22 percent), specialists and freelancers (22 percent), as well as owners (13 percent) and entrepreneurs (10 percent).
More than two-thirds have reported earnings of more than PLN 5,000. The respondents spend their free time mainly in Europe (39 percent), as well as in exotic countries (39 percent). 14 percent choose Poland as their holiday destination. Their hobbies include skiing (28 percent), new technologies (20 percent), and sailing.
Our survey has shown that they actively use air travel and hotels: two-thirds have taken between 10 and 19 flights over the last year for both business and leisure, and nearly a fifth got on a plane more than 20 times.
The use of hotels was just as frequent: one fourth of the respondents spent between 8 and 14 nights at a hotel, while one in ten – more than 50!
Below full ranking of Business Traveller Poland Awards 2014:
AIRPORTS
BEST AIRPORT IN POLAND
1. Warsaw Chopin Airport
2. Wroclaw Strachowice
3. Katowice Pyrzowice
BEST REGIONAL AIRPORT IN POLAND
1. Wrocław Strachowice
2. Katowice Pyrzowice
3. Gdansk Lech Walesa
BEST AIRPORT IN EUROPE
1. Frankfurt am Main
2. Amsterdam Schiphol
3. Monachium Josef Strauss
BEST AIRPORT IN THE WORLD
1. Singapore Changi
2. Amsterdam Schiphol
3. Frankfurt am Main
AIRLINES
BEST SHORT-HAUL AIRLINE
1. LOT Polish Airlines
2. Lufthansa
3. Airberlin
BEST LONG-HAUL AIRLINE
1. Lufthansa
2. Emirates
3. Qatar Airways
BEST ECONOMY CLASS
1. Lufthansa
2. Airberlin
3. LOT Polsih Airlines
BEST PREMIUM ECONOMY CLASS
1. Air France
2. KLM
3. British Airways
BEST BUSINESS CLASS
1. Singapore Airlines
2. Qatar Airways
3. Lufthansa
BEST LOW-COST AIRLINE
1. Wizz Air
2. Ryanair
3. Norwegian
BEST FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAMME
1. Miles and More (Lufthansa)
2. Eurobonus (SAS)
3. Executive Club (British Airways)
BEST AIRLINE ALLIANCE
1. Star Alliance
2. One World
3. Sky Team
HOTELS
BEST BUSINESS HOTEL BRAND IN THE WORLD
1. Radisson Blu
2. Best Western
3. Hilton
BEST BUSINESS HOTEL CHAIN IN POLAND
1. Accor
2. Rezidor
3. Starwood
BEST BUSINESS HOTEL IN POLAND
1. Radisson Blu Cracow
2. Sofitel Grand Sopot
3. Sofitel Victoria Warsaw
BEST HOTEL LOYALTY SCHEME
1. Le Club Accorhotels
2. Best Western Rewards
3. Starwood Preferred Guest
BEST HOTEL SPA IN POLAND
1. Dr Irena Eris Hotel Spa Wzgorza Dylewskie
2. Sheraton Sopot Hotel Conference Center & Spa
3. Dr Irena Eris Hotel Spa Krynica
CARS RENTALS AND CARS
BEST CAR RENTAL COMPANY IN THE WORLD
1. Hertz
2. Avis
3. Europcar
BEST CAR RENTAL COMPANY IN POLAND
1. Avis
2. Hertz
3. Europcar
BEST FLEET CAR
1. Toyota Avensis
2. Skoda Octavia
3. Ford Mondeo
BEST EXECUTIVE CAR
1. Skoda Superb
2. Audi A8
3. BMW 7 Series
ELECTRONICS, LUGGAGE AND LEISURE
BEST SMARTPHONE FOR BUSINESS
1. Samsung
2. Nokia
3. Apple
BEST LAPTOP FOR BUSINESS
1. Sony
2. Dell
3. Samsung
FAVOURITE LUGGAGE BRAND
1. Wittchen
2. Samsonite
3. Victorinox
BEST CLOTHING BRAND FOR BUSINESS TRAVEL
1. Vistula
2. Hugo Boss
3. Wólczanka
BEST LEISURE TOUR OPERATOR
1. Tui
2. Itaka
3. Rainbow Tours
