Welcome Reception at Sofitel Heathrow

Registration

Keynote

The Airline Models that are Changing the World: How big will their impact be? (Long haul LCCs, narrowbody long haul, airline subsidiaries) 

As new airline entrants are increasingly enabled to innovate by new aircraft models with expanded range and capacity, the profile of city pair development promises to be transformed. It is already starting to happen, partially accelerated by the need to bypass congested hubs. What does this do for the future shape of connectivity, on the North Atlantic, within Europe and looking eastwards to Asia? 

Keynote: Aviation Infrastructure 

Aviation Infrastructure - adding new facilities against enormous odds 

It is a popular refrain that there has been no new runway added in the UK since WWII – although many unused and underused airports have been reactivated. Across the world, similar stories abound - it has taken Sydney nearly 50 years to decide to build a new airport - although major exceptions like China, the Gulf, Turkey and Mexico do exist. Following the interminable process leading up to a decision to add a new runway at Heathrow Airport, the next step is actually to navigate the many hurdles involved in actually building it. Manoeuvring a way through the various needs of the stakeholders is a delicate business and not everyone is ever happy.

Adapting for an uncertain future: Regulation, open skies and labour relations 

Even with the disruptions of LCC and Gulf carrier entry, change in the airline industry has been more or less linear. For many European, as well as some US airlines and others, the confusion is threatening to become multi-dimensional if a number of current scenarios unfold. And while the US open skies agreement is also challenged, the confusion spreads to almost any airline operating to the UK (and Ireland). To prepare for the future amid this uncertainty, airline managements will have to work closely with unions, while keeping a careful eye on their consumer markets. Airlines are often very creative at finding ways to provide services and circumvent regulations which might otherwise prevent their operation, but can regulations adjust to facilitate rather than restrict the ability of airlines to deliver what consumers really want? 

Keynote: Distribution

Keynote: Ancillaries 

Anarchy in the Distribution Space: New developments and where to next?  

A host of new apps and techniques are being developed across the spectrum of retailing, payments and generally controlling customer behaviour – or at least offering an array of attractive alternatives. These increasingly include Artificial Intelligence and chatbots, in ways that transform one-on-one communication with customers. Typically they do not cover the range of conventional distribution, but the sheer number of new ideas and applications in this area is starting to change the shape of the relationship between airline and traveller. Then there are the online retail behemoths like Google, Amazon, Facebook, along with Airbnb and others rapidly accumulating massive data sets and the ability to use them. How are airlines responding? How should they respond?

Chairman's Wrap

Registration

Chairman's Welcome 

One Belt, One Road - the inexorable growth trajectory for Chinese aviation... 

The impact of China on global aviation is only just beginning, as millions of Chinese consumers enter the market for international travel. How big an impact will it really be and what are the implications for airlines and the aviation industry at large? 

Establishing and Operating Airline Subsidiaries: best practice and where to next? 

As full service airlines seek to respond to short and long haul low cost operators and to target different market segments, the number of subsidiaries proliferates. Responding in this way raises almost as many issues as they solve, but the successful models have certain characteristics in common. Our panel of experts will review best (and other) practice, drawing from their own experience and from observing others. The degree of separation between parent and daughter airline is defined by such matters as management and staff partitioning, connectivity, interlining and codesharing, branding – as well as the ability or otherwise to participate in the global alliance based joint ventures.

Transition Time 

Chairman's Wrap