30-Mar-2022 10:00 AM

CAPA Airlines in Transition 2022, Manchester, UK 7/8 April. Meet key aviation CEOs!

Featured Analysis

The CAPA Airline Leader Summit series makes an exciting return to in-person events in 2022 with the 'Airlines in Transition' event held on 7-8 April and hosted by MAG in Manchester.

Airlines in Transition will bring together thought leaders from aviation and the wider travel industry, including airline executives, key suppliers, technology partners and regulators.

The focus for the summit is the aviation megatrends that have emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Global airline leaders will share their insights and perspectives on the changes brought about in the aviation sector over the past two years. They will also share their expectations about the shape of the recovery and current thinking on how the pandemic has changed the broader trajectory for aviation and the travel sector.

CAPA will provide its own global overview of the state of the airline industry and the outlook for the rest of 2022.

Other key topics across the Summit will include:

The recent changes in airline operating and ownership models;
Shifting trends in aircraft ownership and financing; the renewed push towards aviation sector decarbonisation;
The outlook for business travel;
Renewed opportunities for low cost carriers and new market entrants;
The airline industry's digital transformation and the push towards new areas for innovation.

CAPA's Airline Leader Summit provides an unparalleled platform for knowledge and networking with aviation and travel professionals. More than 40 airlines and 20 industry CEO have already confirmed attendance, with more to come.

For more information or to register visit the CAPA Airline Leader Summit - Airlines in Transition registration website.

Day 1 Highlights:

CAPA - Centre for Aviation Chairman Emeritus Peter Harbison will present CAPA's 'State of the Industry' outlook.

Peter Harbison will then moderate a series of high-level panel discussions on the remarkable survival of the industry in the face of COVID-19, as well as the challenges to traditional operating and ownership models that the pandemic has produced.

The panel features key decision-makers from some of the world's largest airlines, including Emirates President, Sir Tim Clark; Etihad Airways Group CEO, Tony Douglas; KLM President and CEO, Pieter Elbers; and SAS, President and CEO, Anko van der Werff.

WestJet Board Member and former British Airways CEO Alex Cruz will lead a panel discussion on the transformation of airlines' approach to aircraft ownership, as well as the reordering of the relationships between airlines and lessors due to the pandemic. Major airline and aircraft lessor executives will feature in the panel, including BOC Aviation Managing Director and CEO Robert Martin, easyJet Chief Operating Officer Peter Bellew, and Avolon Senior Aviation Executive Lynn Guiney.

A panel on the far-reaching topic of decarbonisation of the aviation sector will be moderated by Air Transport World Editor in Chief Karen Walker.

Participants include Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis, Aviation Environment Federation Policy Director Cait Hewitt, IAG Group Head of Sustainability Jonathon Counsell, IATA Director Fuels Alexander Küper, and Skyscanner Chief Product Officer, Piero Sierra.

This will be the first of a series on discussion on megatrends emerging during the pandemic. Panellists will examine the progress of the sector towards decarbonisation, the varied and often contradictory industry responses, the public and regulatory imperatives pushing the trend, and the practicality of the industry's ambitious plans to move towards net-zero emissions.

JLS Consulting Director John Strickland will visit another aviation megatrend: the shift towards long haul narrowbody operations.

New generation narrowbodies present a step change opportunity for airlines, and the changes born of the pandemic have only amplified this. The panel features major aerospace and low cost airline leaders, including airBaltic Chairman of the Board and CEO Martin Gauss, Embraer Commercial Aviation chief commercial officer Martyn Holmes, Play CEO Birgir Jónsson, and SunExpress CEO Max Kownatzki.

Spotnana VP Strategy and Partnerships Johnny Thorsen will moderate a panel discussion on the changes introduced to business travel by the pandemic.

Despite the essential nature of business travel it still lags the broader recovery, and yield profiles may have been forever altered due to issues around sustainability, cost reduction and duty of care. Participants include Ernst and Young Global Head Travel Meetings and Events Karen Hutchings, Southwest Airlines Vice President David Harvey, and Virgin Atlantic Chief Commercial Officer Juha Jarvinen.

Day 2 Highlights:

Day 2 of the CAPA Airline Leader Summit will start with a discussion on the rising number of new market entrants.

Strikitsa Consulting Managing Director Yolanta Strikitsa will moderate a discussion featuring a number of recently launched airlines, including Emerald Airlines CEO Conor McCarthy, Eurowings Discover CEO Wolfgang Raebiger, Flypop CEO Nino Singh Judge, and Play CEO Birgir Jónsson.

Skyscanner VP of Flights Hugh Aitken will moderate a panel discussion on digitalisation and innovation in the IT, distribution and content management arenas. Participants include Accelya Group Global Head of Sales Bryan Porter, Dohop CEO David Gunnarsson, Lufthansa Airlines Group SVP Channel Management and CCO SWISS Tamur Goudarzi Pour.

Closing formal discussions on Day 2 will be a freewheeling debate on the transition of the airline sector and the multiple challenges it faces at present.

CAPA's own Chairman Emeritus, Peter Harbison, will join CNN Anchor Richard Quest and Aviation Strategy and Concepts Managing Director Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus in considering the financial situation of airlines and airports, changes in technology, and the implications for the future of topics such as cybersecurity and climate change.

The CAPA Airline Leader Summit - Airlines in Transition will also include a networking lunch and golf tournament, hosted by API.

Key industry leaders attending the Airline Leader Summit include:

Emirates President Sir Tim Clark