Aviation legends gather in Tampa for prestigious Tony Jannus Awards

It was a night to remember in downtown Tampa last Thursday as airline, airport, and aviation industry leaders gathered at the JW Marriott Tampa Water Street to celebrate the 61st annual Tony Jannus Awards. This year’s award recipient was Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian, who was honored for his leadership of one of the nation’s top airlines.

The Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society presents the award each year to a leading figure in the commercial aviation industry. The society was formed in 1964 to celebrate the world’s first regularly scheduled commercial air service, which operated daily flights across Tampa Bay between St. Petersburg and Tampa. The award is named after the pilot of that inaugural flight, Tony Jannus.

Tampa International Airport was a proud Legacy Sponsor of this year’s event, along with Orlando International Airport and Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. TPA CEO Michael Stephens commended Delta on its 100 years of service and credited Bastian’s leadership for transforming Delta into one of the nation’s most admired airlines.

“Ed, your leadership has guided Delta with purpose, resilience, and humanity,” said Stephens. “It proves that the true differentiator in aviation isn’t found in your fleet or facilities, but in its greatest strength—its people.”

Former Delta CEO and 2013 Jannus Award recipient Richard Anderson was on hand to present this year's award to Bastian. The list of past recipients of the Tony Jannus Award reads like a who’s who of commercial aviation history, including Juan Trippe, the founder of Pan Am; Captain Edward Rickenbacker, chairman of the former Eastern Air Lines; Herb Kelleher, former CEO of Southwest Airlines; and more recently, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who performed a successful water landing on the Hudson River after his aircraft suffered dual engine failure due to multiple bird strikes.

Each year, the society also recognizes Florida college students pursuing careers in aviation. This year, six students were honored with Tony Jannus Scholars Awards of $5,000 each. In addition, each student received a pair of roundtrip tickets from sponsor Southwest Airlines and was invited to Delta Air Lines' world headquarters in Atlanta for a tour of the Delta Flight Museum.

This year’s winners included Jose Pagan from Tampa’s Everglades University; Cassidy Reale, Noa Hollander, and Ashlyn Barwick from the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne; Woojae Sohn from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona; and Jeremy Wubbena from the National Aviation Academy campus in Clearwater.

You can watch a video highlighting each Tony Jannus Scholar below.