Africa's
airline industry will be put under the spotlight at World Travel Market 2012,
the leading global event for the travel industry, as part of a wider series of
discussions among aviation chiefs over the industry's future.
The
airline events programme will start on Tuesday 6 November with the Airline – Out of Africa
session which will look at how the continent's airlines are taking on
international airlines to secure a slice of this growing market. In the past
many local airlines have complained that they are missing out on the increasing
passenger numbers Africa is generating. However, the emergence of strong
African airlines is countering this issue, helped by the introduction of new
generation aircraft such as Boeing’s 787 and the Airbus A350. The session will
focus on both the opportunities in Africa for air travel and tourism
development but also the challenges it faces regarding infrastructure,
regulation and the sheer problem of the distances flown in Africa.
The
session will be chaired by John Strickland, who runs aviation consultancy JLS
Consulting and has 30 years experience of the industry. Before founding the
consultancy he held senior positions in British Caledonian, British Airways,
KLM uk and Buzz and is now regularly called upon by the international media to
comment on aviation issues. He will be joined by Ethiopian Airlines Chief
Executive Tewolde GebreMariam who, over a period of 27 years, has worked his
way up through the airline. During this time he has held many overseas
positions, giving him a view on Africa's airline industry from both the in and
outside of the continent. Also lending his expertise to the panel is Chief
Executive Ed Winter of the new low cost African carrier FastJet which will
launch its first base in Tanzania in November. Further strengthening the line
up is Mbuvi Ngunze, Chief Operating Officer of another leading African carrier,
Kenya Airways.
The
event is one of three focusing on the aviation sector with the second on
Wednesday 7 November entitled Airline
– Setting the Scene: The Big Challenges.
Chaired by Strickland again, the session will focus on the many tough issues
the industry faces, from rising taxation and oil prices to weakening demand and
airport capacity. A core panel speaker will be Iberia Director of Corporate
Affairs Manuel López Colmenarejo who has spent most of his career at the
airline. He also boasts additional experience on the boards of several other
companies, including Amadeus and was also President for Amadeus Spain.
He’s
joined by Gatwick Airport CEO Stuart Wingate, who has a long and distinguished
career at airports having held the positions of MD at Stansted Airport, CEO of
Budapest Airport and Customer Services Director at Glasgow Airport.
The
programme will be rounded off by the third session on Thursday 8 November
entitled Airline – The Big
Talk, a head to head with easyJet CEO Carolyn McCall,
examining the reasons behind easyJet's success and how it has been
repositioning its offer.
Reed
Travel Exhibitions Director World Travel Market Simon Press said: “Aviation is
such a core part of the travel industry that it is only right that we should
put great effort into securing the best speakers to examine it.
“Africa
is so exciting from the potential growth it offers to the industry and it is
pleasing to see so many African airlines now gathering their strength and
fighting for a share in this lucrative market. We are looking forward to a
series of well-informed and thought-provoking discussions that will inevitably
lead to some strong debate.”
Culled
from WTM website
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