Aviation Week held its 52nd Annual Laureate Awards dinner in Washington on March 3, 2009 to recognise industry leaders who represented leadership, innovation, operational skill and heroism in 2008. The Laureates have been awarded for 52 years. The nominees and winners are chosen by editors of Aviation Week magazine. "Those selected as Laureates represent the best of those fields in determination, innovation, business acumen, operational skill and heroism," according to the editors.
Laureates are named in several categories ranging from Space and Military to Commercial and General Aviation. IATA won the award in the "Information Technology/Electronics" category for the completion of the historic electronic ticketing project. At the gala dinner in Washington, the presenters noted that the "e-ticketing initiative met resistance as carriers in some regions were reluctant to embrace the shift away from traditional paper tickets. But IATA never let up the pressure and, in June 2008, at its annual general meeting in Istanbul it was able to declare success." IATA StB Director Philippe Bruyère and Regional VP Doug Lavin accepted the award. The elimination of paper tickets has saved airlines an estimated US$3 billion per year.
Check out the story that appeared in Aviation Week after the event.