About
CEESAR - The Best Airlines Awards are the awards presented to the best air carriers in Central and Eastern Europe on the basis of a voting done by verified airline passengers. This annual plebiscite and the accompanying gala dinner have been the biggest and the most-known event among the industry professionals for over a dozen years.
Since 2004, passengers have been assessing air carriers present in the European sky, in various categories, creating a ranking of the best airlines. CEESAR is a unified quality classification system of airlines in Central and Eastern Europe. Verified passengers who have used the services of airlines through a dedicated platform, evaluate them in several categories: best value, check-in and boarding process, onboard comfort, cabin crew, cleanliness, entertainment and catering.
The ranking has been evolving, taking advantage of new technological possibilities and adapting to advanced requirements and standards. Initially, the ranking had a local dimension and was based on the voting of passengers traveling to / from Poland only. Since 2018, thanks to the extension of cooperation with our partners, the area of impact has been increased to include also the CEE countries. From now on, passengers from Bulgaria through to the Baltic countries will be able to choose the best airlines of Central and Eastern Europe (Bosnia and Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kosovo, Lithuania, Latvia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia).
The ranking is based on opinions of passengers who have verified their flight. Thanks to the cooperation with the partners operating on CEE markets (eSky Group), it is possible to reach a selected group of passengers who have actually travelled on board of specific airlines. As one of few organizations, we carry out the verification of assessments based on the opinions of people who really took a flight. This affects the particular credibility and, consequently, the high impact of the awarded prizes.
Methodology
Thanks to the cooperation with our partners actively operating in the CEE area, each customer receives an individual link to a voting form by e-mail, where they can assess the air carrier they made their travel with. The assessment of the travel is influenced by a large number of factors, and the competitive advantages of air carriers are diverse. In seven categories, voters rate airlines on a scale from 1 (worst rating) to 5 (best rating). This enforces a more detailed assessment of a given air carrier, and allows organizers to analyze the results more accurately.
In the final ranking, the airlines that are taken into account are those, for which at least 50 votes were cast. Rating categories have been adapted to the group of carriers - low-cost airlines are not rated, for example, in terms of free catering or entertainment on board, which they do not provide.
In individual categories, no distinction was made depending on the type of route. While determining the final classification, as the border between short- and long-haul flights, a distance of 5,000 km was assumed and the votes cast were appropriately assigned.
To enable the participation of persons buying tickets directly with air carriers or using other sales channels, the organizer will take into account their votes provided that the flight has been verified.
Gala
The summary of the plebiscite is provided during an official gala, in which the best of the best are honored The award ceremony has become more than just an opportunity to herald those who change the CEE air market - one of the most dynamically growing in the EU - for the better. The event has become a cornerstone of the aviation calendar of the year. It is an unmatched chance to meet the most important individuals from the aviation industry.
The gala dinner is attended by, inter alia, CEOs of airlines and airports, representatives of the largest aviation companies, media, experts, administration and government, and many other people. We gather more than 250-300 people every year and they all enjoy this opportunity to conduct informal talks and network.
The presentation of the prizes and the entire official part of the gala is broadcast in the Internet. The unofficial part is an excellent time for social networking and meeting all the most important people in one place. The gala enjoys great interest, and the results of the voting are frequently quoted in the media.