Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society honours former Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden

The Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society has honoured one of commercial aviation’s great leaders, former CEO of Alaska Airlines Brad Tilden. He was presented with the prestigious Tony Jannus award by 2017 honouree Doug Parker, former CEO of American Airlines. The Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society marked the occasion with a spectacular cake.

The Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society also had a special beer from Cigar City Brewing that they brought back especially for the event called the Tony Jannus Cedar Pale Ale. Picture is the co-chair of the society Autumn Ward, who is a Principal Consultant at ESA.

Tilden was at Alaska Airlines for over 30 years and helped the company evolve from a small northwest airline to the fifth largest airline in the US.

The Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society marked the occasion with a spectacular cake, featuring Alaska Airlines, at a special VIP reception hosted by Tampa International Airport. The cake was made by The Cake Girl, which Tampa International Airport uses for most of its inaugural cakes. The Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society also had a special beer from Cigar City Brewing that they brought back especially for the event called the Tony Jannus Cedar Pale Ale.

Tony Jannus was the pilot of the first scheduled commercial flight from St. Petersburg to Tampa on 1 January 1914. The purpose of the society is to make sure his vision and legacy live on through helping students that want to pursue a career in aviation or aerospace.