ALTA (the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association) kicks off its 13th Annual ALTA Airline Leaders Forum this week, November 14 – 15 , 2106, in Mexico City, Mexico, hosted by Fondo Mixto de Promoción Turística de la Ciudad de Mexico (CDMX) with the support of strategic partner CANAERO, and airline partners Aeromar, Aeromexico and Volaris.
Designed to stimulate an international dialogue that promotes safer, more cost-efficient and environmentally friendly aviation in the region, ALTA’s Airline Leaders Forum is the largest event of its nature in the Latin America and Caribbean commercial aviation industry.
“Aviation is a vital engine spurring social and economic connectivity and prosperity throughout the Latin America and Caribbean region, and beyond,” said ALTA’s Executive Director Eduardo Iglesias. “We are stimulating economies, trade, travel and tourism, all while connecting the communities we serve. And we see great potential for the continued long-term growth of our industry in the region, which means even further social and economic connectivity for the countries of our region well beyond the direct impact of aviation.”
During 2015, ALTA’s member airlines transported 207 million passengers, operated more than 1.86 million flights, increased their fleet to 1,170 aircraft, and started service on 74 new routes. Latin America and Caribbean aviation creates 806,000 direct jobs and supports 5.2 million jobs a year, and the industry drives $167 billion in GDP.
“In order to achieve further projected growth, we need to continue and further collaboration with governments, airports, stakeholders, and the communities we serve in order to ensure that they fully understand the tremendous value of aviation’s direct and indirect benefits,” said Enrique Cueto, President of ALTA’s Executive Committee and CEO of LATAM Airlines. “This Forum, which brings together all industry stakeholders, is the ideal platform for these discussions and collaboration.”
This week’s Forum agenda focuses on the following topics which are central to ALTA’s four key pillars: safety and security, efficiency and productivity, the environment, and the economic benefits of aviation. For the complete agenda, including speakers visit http://www.alta.aero/airlineleaders/2016/home.php.
ALTA Airline Leaders Forum Agenda Overview:
· Opening Remarks by Enrique Cueto, President of ALTA’s Executive Committee
· Message by Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO
· Regional Economic Outlook – Despite the economic headwinds of late 2015 and 2016, Latin America and the Caribbean (with the exception of Venezuela and Brazil) continue to show growth in passenger traffic. A few years back a new trend of bigger and very integrated economic groups surfaced in the region that was soon followed by extra-regional investors making strategic investments in some local carriers. In the meantime, aviation in the rest of the world has continued to witness a sharp increase in carriers’ cross border investments without actual mergers happening. How well prepared is our region to jump into that new trend and how much of an appetite do the stock markets have for these types of investments? Is this the new trend moving forward? Today, has it become too complicated to risk a full merger process? Market experts will share their opinions.
· The Value of Aviation for Economies – The aviation industry is frequently referred to as an enabler of economic activity and development by multiple economic experts globally. Connectivity and flight availability is quickly becoming a differentiator of the competitiveness of cities and countries worldwide while for others a flight is the only way to be linked with their fellow citizens, their government, and the outside world. What is the economic significance of aviation to small cities, islands, capital cities, and the region? Are there ways to further expand the economic impact of the industry or is it at risk of being lost?
· The New Airline CEOs on the Block – Since ALTA’s Forum in November 2015, several new CEOs have joined its member airlines. Others have announced major business model changes. For those not coming from an aviation background, how has their landing been? How do they rank the aviation industry in relation to other industries? What about those who left the industry and returned - what brought them back?
· Technological Innovation – Aviation is an industry that from its inception 100 years ago has been in the forefront of applying new technologies to its business, be it with high efficiency engines, fuselage composite materials, 3D printing, satellite navigation, and more. What are the next steps and challenges in adopting these new technologies? What is their real impact on costs and labor availability? What is next in terms of maintenance inventory, safety, and repairs?
· Aviation and the Environment – For many years, negotiations have been taking place at different levels of international organizations, associations, and corporate offices to try to establish and agree on common objectives and measures related to aviation emissions. ICAO’s Assembly just took place. What happened in Montreal? How is Latin America and the Caribbean positioned to implement the agreement reached there, and what are the challenges looking forward? How do we prevent a repeat of the consumer protection regulations with each country heading its own way and without any level of common grounds?
· Smart Regulations – Over the last decade we have seen a major flare-up of regulations in Latin America and the Caribbean that are not consistent amongst themselves. From consumer protection, visa and vaccines requirements, and competition laws, to MRO and aircraft simulator certification rules, slots allocation and banking rules, just to name a few, are currently in complete disarray, generating higher costs and inefficiencies across the board. Latin America and the Caribbean accounts for approximately 600 million inhabitants that are currently under the scrutiny of more than 45 different consumer protection regulations on aviation alone, while other similar markets operate under a single regime. Are these regulations hindering the development of our economies, the private sector, and the likeliness of cross border investments? What is their economic impact? Are there lessons to be learned from other countries or regions? How heavy can these regulations become in times of economic headwinds to augment the economic downturn?
· Airline CEO Panel
In addition, ALTA’s annual awards ceremony will take place during the Forum, including the Federico Bloch Award, which recognizes outstanding leadership in the advancement and integration of the commercial aviation industry in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Rolim Amaro Award, which honors customer service excellence from an airline´s perspective and is presented to the Latin American or Caribbean aviation organization that exhibits the best overall customer service as determined by the airlines who are the users or customers of those organizations.
