Annoucing the 2025 Cranky Network Award Nominations

Now that the new year has begun, it is time to reveal the nominations for the upcoming 2025 Cranky Network Awards presented by Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The ceremony which honors the best in airline network planning will be on February 27 in the Valley of the Sun for invited guests, and again, we will only post highlights after the event is done. That being said, you can follow along on social media where we’ll post the winners live. Look for more details on that as the event draws closer.

This year we have expanded beyond just the US and Canada to include Latin America north of the equator, so we have some new awards this year.

But enough about that. Let’s get into this year’s nominees, listed in alphabetical order for each category.

Sexiest New Route – Short-Haul presented by Embraer

For the sexiest new route under 3,000 miles

Alaska from Los Angeles to La Paz (México) American from Miami to South Caicos Avianca from Bogotá to Miami JetBlue from Westchester to San Juan United from Newark to Nuuk Sexiest New Route – Long-Haul

For the sexiest new route over 3,000 miles

Air Canada from Vancouver to Manila Air France from Phoenix to Paris/CDG Alaska/Hawaiian from Seattle to Tokyo/Narita Delta from New York/JFK to Catania United from Newark – Madeira Most Clever Flight Number American 824 from Los Angeles to Philadelphia highlighting Kobe Bryant’s two jersey numbers flying between his home town and his professional home American 1989 from Kansas City to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl, giving a Taylor Swift connection Sun Country 355 from Minneapolis/St Paul to Atlanta for the 355ml size of a bottle of Coke United 80 from Newark to Nuuk for the 80 percent of Greenland that is covered in ice WestJet 1124 from Edmonton to Salt Lake for the number of Canadian players (11) on the new Utah hockey team during its first season (24) Best Airport Partner

As nominated by the airlines themselves

Abe Weber from Appleton Sonja Harvey and David Zielke from Portland (Oregon) Lori Lynah from Savannah Best New Destination – North America

For the newest destination in North America not previously served from the US and Canada (in recent times)

Aero to Napa (APC) Allegiant to Gulf Shores (GUF) American to South Caicos (XSC) Avelo to Lakeland (LAL) United to Puerto Escondido (PXM) Best New Destination – Global

For the newest destination outside North America not previously served from the US and Canada (in recent times)

Air Transat to Valencia (Spain) Delta to Catania (Italy) Neos to Bari (Italy) United to Bilbao (Spain) United to Faro (Portugal) Tailgate Express Award presented by John Glenn Columbus International Airport

For the best college football fan flying program

American Delta Southwest United Most Promising New Partnership presented by Pittsburgh International Airport Air Canada and Landline new regional service from Toronto Allegiant and Viva for their proposed joint venture which will keep being nominated until the government actually does something about it Delta and SAS for their new codeshare and frequent flier partnership JetBlue and Cape Air for their new frequent flier partnership Southwest and Icelandair for the new (or, ahem, returning) interline partnership Calculated Risk Award Alaska for its big Seattle international expansion plan Frontier for its continuing network shift away from traditional leisure markets United for the restart of its Tokyo/Narita hub shifting capacity from Guam Viva for its move into Guadalajara Volaris for its move into Monterrey Best Aircraft-Enabled Opportunity

For the best opportunity that couldn’t be served either economically or operationally without newer generation aircraft

Aer Lingus for Nashville – Dublin on the A321XLR Air Transat for Toronto – Berlin on the A321LR Breeze for Norfolk – San Diego on the A220 Porter for Toronto – Palm Springs on the E195-E2 United for Newark – Madeira on the 737-8 MAX La Red Más Mejorada

The most improved network for Latin American airlines (north of the equator)

Aeromexico Avianca Copa Viva Volaris Most Improved Network presented by Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

The most improved network for US and Canadian airlines

Breeze Delta JetBlue Porter United

In addition, we have our usual “lifetime achievement” style winners which will be announced for both the Route Victory and Network Victory awards. This year we also have the new Over the Wall Award presented by Oakland International Airport to honor the best achievement in flying between the US and México.

The stage is set, so stay tuned to see who wins the trophies!