An award you cannot buy, lobby for, or campaign into existence.

The Freddies

Introduced in 1988 by Randy Petersen of InsideFlyer magazine, the “Freddies” are named in honor of Sir Freddie Laker and have grown to become the most prestigious member-generated awards in the travel loyalty industry.

The goal has never changed: give a voice to the frequent flyer, and honor the efforts of an industry that now counts more than 300 million members worldwide.

The first Freddie Awards drew 864 ballots. Now in an average year more than 4.2 million ballots are cast, in English, German, Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Korean, Turkish, Hindi and Arabic — across three geographic regions.

The trophy

The iconic obelisk-shaped statuette graces the lobbies of some of the most respected travel loyalty programs in the world. It is a symbol of excellence that can only be obtained by exceeding the high expectations of frequent travelers — never purchased, never awarded by a panel.

Sir Freddie Laker

Born Frederick Alfred Laker, Sir Freddie was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1978 for his contribution to commercial aviation and the British economy. He founded Britain's first all-jet air carrier, Laker Airways, in 1966 — which became the largest privately owned airline in the world.

His SKYTRAIN service revolutionised the industry with the first no-reservation, low-cost air travel; by 1981 more than two million passengers had flown it. He flew in the Berlin airlift, helped shape London Gatwick and its rail link, and served as the first managing director of British United Airways.

Every Freddie handed out carries his name because he spent a career insisting that flying should work better for the person in the seat.