CAPA Americas Aviation Summit Denver 18/19-Mar-2019
CAPA Americas Aviation Summit, to be held in Denver, Colorado on 18/19 March 2019, is the US version of CAPA's renowned annual regulatory and commercial Summits.
With key US industry leaders, join us to explore key issues affecting airlines and airports in the Americas, focusing on the US domestic sector and growth prospects in the major international markets.
At a time of major change in the global airline industry, the Summit offers a great opportunity to hear the views of these leaders and to gain an understanding of where 2019 is likely to lead.
- CAPA Americas Aviation Summit is a key industry event focusing on airlines and airports in the Americas, with a particular emphasis on the US domestic sector and growth prospects in major international markets.
- The summit will provide insights into the future of the aviation industry, including discussions on innovation, external market examples, and the impact of geopolitical factors.
- Key topics to be explored include the state of US infrastructure and ATM reform, revenue optimization strategies, the impact of new generation aircraft on long-haul routes, immunized joint ventures, disruption on the North Atlantic, ULCCs in the Canadian airline industry, distribution in the digital age, and the use of AI, automation, and blockchain in the airline business.
- The event will feature industry leaders and executives from airlines such as Viva Aerobus, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, Lufthansa Group, Japan Airlines, Spirit Airlines, LATAM Airlines, Qantas, and more.
- Day 1 will focus on competition post-consolidation, emerging markets for ULCCs, the North Atlantic market, and the future of open skies.
- Day 2 will highlight trans-Pacific travel and the viability of new markets opened up by new generation aircraft.
As with previous annual Americas Aviation Summits, CAPA will challenge North American aviation industry leaders to reflect on what is needed to drive the industry forward, looking at innovation in external markets as examples to follow.
The Americas Aviation Summit brings together under one roof an unrivalled gathering of innovators, disruptors and thought leaders to offer high level insights into airline strategy, ULCCs and emerging markets.
Register here: CAPA Americas Aviation Summit 2019
Featuring top innovators and industry executives, the CAPA Americas Aviation Summit 2019 will include a diverse range of keynote addresses, presentations, interviews, panel discussions and lively debates, against the friendly, informal and collegiate backdrop that CAPA events have become renowned for.
Key topics to be explored include:
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Geopolitical outlook and its impact on aviation industry
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The state of US infrastructure and ATM reform
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The sustainability of revenue optimisation strategies, including fare families and product unbundling
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The impact of new generation aircraft on long haul route economics, enabling new growth opportunities between South East Asia and the US and Lower South America and North America
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Immunised JVs and market access
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Disruption on the North Atlantic; market impact of incursions from new low cost long haul entrants
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The impact of ULCCs on the Canadian airline industry
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Distribution in the digital age and latest NDC developments
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Use cases for AI, automation and blockchain - what these could bring to the airline business
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Coping with disruption and structural change - what airlines can learn from other sectors
Day 1: Spotlight on competition post consolidation, emerging markets for ULCCs, the North Atlantic market and the future of open skies
Day 1 will include a panel discussion on the US to Latin America market, with IATA regional vice president for North America Peter Cerda moderating a discussion between IFC Aviation principal Carlos Ozores and LATAM VP corporate affairs Gisela Escobar.
Major US airlines have comfortably dominated capacity on routes between North and South America for decades, but new aircraft technology and a raft of new airline entrants are set to change the competitive dynamics of this market.
Other key issues to be discussed include the impact of long range narrowbodies enabling US ULCCs and LCCs to compete against the majors by bringing the deep south of Latin America within flying range from South Florida.
Latin American LCCs such as Interjet and Volaris are also taking advantage of new technology to go further into the US, but long haul international markets within Latin America also offer promising growth opportunities.
Brexit and the uncertain status of international airline regulation
Day 1 will also focus on the future of open skies against the backdrop of Brexit and the US' seemingly wavering commitment to the principles of a global economy.
Meanwhile Canada remains committed to its (dark) Blue Skies protectionist policy. In the wake of the US big three's recent and continuing onslaught on the Gulf carriers, there is still a lack of clarity over the US position on liberal market access, a question made more poignant by the Trump administration's attacks on free trade generally and the EU and China in particular.
Day 2: Spotlight on trans Pacific travel and the viability of new markets opened up by new generation aircraft
Day 2 will feature a comprehensive panel discussion on new generation aircraft, game changing economics and range for LCCs, and how low cost operators are increasingly using new generation narrowbodies on longer haul routes.
The 787 and A350 widebodies have dramatically changed operating economics on ultra long haul routes, offering a much more profitable proposition than older generation twin aisle jets. But the right aircraft type is just one factor in successful route development.
Although new generation aircraft open up opportunities for numerous new routes, maintaining consistent demand in those markets is paramount, especially once airport incentives are gone.
ULCCs are also making an impact, forcing the US majors to deploy an array of tactics to keep them at bay, in the form of segmented fare families and product unbundling. Further north, in Canada, ULCC start ups have injected renewed competition into the tightly held Canadian market.
Long haul low cost international operations are becoming a feature of the US-Europe market, introducing a new dynamic into the equation. Until now, the market has been the territory of foreign airlines, but with airlines like the mid-cost/mid-frills JetBlue Airways now about to embark on trans-Atlantic operations, a new era of competition could be in the wind.
Speaker highlights:
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Juan Carlos is Viva Aerobus CEO, he is 39, and a passionate executive with entrepreneurial background. He was part of Viva Aerobus' founding team, he started in the Commercial Department and became CEO in 2010 at age 29. Since then, Viva Aerobus has grown with a CAGR of 20%. Under Juan Carlos' leadership, Viva Aerobus became the fastest growing Mexican airline in passenger numbers with industry leading LFs of 90%, highest margins and and world class ancillary revenue of over 40% of total sales. |
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Juan Carlos Zuazua
CEO VivaAerobus |
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Peter has been the Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President at Delta Air Lines, Inc. since July 13, 2015 and its Company Secretary since May 27, 2016. Mr. Carter served as Chairman at the international law firm of Dorsey & Whitney in Minneapolis and was its Partner from 1999 to 2015. He has handled complex litigation issues for top Fortune 500 companies and has managed a wide range of legal matters including governance issues and regulatory affairs. |
| Peter Carter
Executive Vice President - Chief Legal Officer Delta Air Lines |
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Lorne is vice president - Operations & Industry Affairs. In this role, he is focused on operational issues that affect the airline industry, such as transformation of the National Airspace System to a 'NextGen' ATC environment, as well as safely accommodating the integration of drone and commercial space operations. Lorne works closely with our operations and government affairs teams toward a shared goal - minimizing the operational constraints that impact airline operations today while working to ensure that costs of integrating new entrants are funded by their builders/operators. |
| Lorne Cass
Vice President - Operations & Industry Affairs American Airlines |
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Jude was appointed Sun Country's President and Chief Executive Officer in July of 2017. He previously served as the COO and EVP of Allegiant Travel Co. While at Allegiant he was the senior executive responsible for Marketing, Network, Operations, Treasury, Fleet, Scheduling, Pricing, Ancillary Products, Digital, Distribution, Charters, and Loyalty. Prior to his career with Allegiant, Jude was a finance manager at American Airlines. Jude has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University and a Masters of Business Administration from University of Texas. From 1996 to 2002, he was an Infantry Officer in the US Marine Corps. Jude and his wife, Ty, have three children and reside in Deephaven, MN. |
| Jude Bricker President & CEO Sun Country Airlines |
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Thomas is an experienced Director Of Sales And Business Development with a demonstrated history of working in the airlines/aviation industry and proven track record to lead commercial projects. Skilled in Commercial Aviation, Network Planning, Pricing Strategy, operational Revenue Management, and Solution Design. Experienced in leading teams, running projects as well as change management. |
| Thomas Dionisius
Director Sales Steering and Development Lufthansa Group |
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Akihide has nearly 30 years of experience in Japan Airlines, recently focusing on corporate planning and strategy research. He is experienced in vast areas of airline management (always in Japan Airlines) such as domestic sales and planning, schedule planning in the cabin crew division, or the administration section of the overseas branch (Milan, Italy). |
| Akihide Yoguchi
Vice President, Marketing & Strategy Research Japan Airlines |
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Mark has over 26 years of experience in the airline industry, focused on airline network planning and scheduling, revenue management, pricing, and station operations with entrepreneurial, low cost, and regional airlines. Mark joined Spirit Airlines in May 2000. Most recently as Vice President - Capacity /Network Planning, Mark has been responsible for all aspects of Spirit's domestic and international route planning and scheduling of the airline's current fleet of over 130 new Airbus A320-family aircraft and its firm order for over 40 additional aircraft. |
| Mark Kopczak
Vice President, Capacity Planning Spirit Airlines |
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Gisela is currently Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs at LATAM Airlines Group, which she joined in 2006. She is responsible for corporate communications, government affairs and sustainability for the group's operations throughout Latin America. Gisela has also held various positions in the Finance Department at LATAM, most recently Corporate Controller and VP Investor Relations, having assumed this role after LAN Airlines merged with Brazilian airline TAM in June 2012 |
| Gisela Escobar
VP Corporate Affairs LATAM Airlines |
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Stephen has worked in the airline industry for more than 35 years. He started his career at Ansett Australia where he worked for 14 years before joining Qantas Airways Ltd in October 1994 as the Regional General Manager for South Australia. Since then, Stephen has held a variety of senior roles with Qantas. In 2001, he left Australia to become the Regional General Manager for South East Asia, based in Singapore, with responsibility for Qantas' joint business agreement with British Airways. |
| Stephen Thompson Senior Executive Vice President The Americas, New Zealand, Pacific Islands & Japan Qantas |
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Since his appointment as Farelogix President and CEO in January 2005, Jim has transformed the company's vision and product offerings to focus on broader opportunities within travel distribution technology. Under his leadership, Farelogix solutions are in production on six continents and the company has transformed into a true global force in travel. |
| Jim Davidson CEO & President Farelogix |
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Captain Bob Fox (United) serves as ALPA's First Vice President. He was elected by the union's Board of Directors on Oct. 17, 2018 and began his four-year term on January 1, 2019. As First Vice President, he serves the ALPA President in carrying out the policies of the Board of Directors and the Executive Board, and in the event the office of President becomes vacant, he becomes the acting President, assuming the position's jurisdictions and duties. |
| Bob Fox
First Vice President ALPA |
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Sara took office as the International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO on June 1, 2014, having served as International Vice President from January 2011 through May 2014. Sara became a United Airlines Flight Attendant in 1996 and has been a union activist since nearly the beginning of her flying career, including leading communications for nearly 10 years at AFA's United chapter.Sara is passionate about her union's historic work to build the Flight Attendant profession and AFA's continued mission to achieve fair compensation, job security, and improved quality of life for aviation's first responders as well as a safe, healthy and secure aircraft cabin for passengers and crew alike. As an international officer, she helped steer the US Airways/America West and United/Continental/Continental Micronesia merger contract negotiations to successfully ratified agreements. |
| Sara Nelson International President Association of Flight Attendants-CWA |
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Ian heads up New Distribution within our Travel Partners team. In this role, Ian has oversight and responsibility for the company's NDC program ensuring that Travelport maintains its leadership position in connecting airlines' NDC content and distributing it to our agency partners though Trip Services and Smartpoint.com. |
| Ian Heywood
Global Head of New Distribution Travelport |
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Ken is a partner in the North America International Commercial Practice Group in Washington, DC. He is also the global chair of Aviation Group, and co-chair of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems multidisciplinary team. Ken is a former chief counsel of the US Federal Aviation Administration |
| Kenneth Quinn
Partner Baker McKenzie |
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Julie leads an experienced team of account managers at Expedia, who are responsible for managing the Expedia Group's relationships with airline partners in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Her team also supports the marketing and distribution of airlines and schedules on Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz and Hotwire consumer travel sites, as well as optimising the Air Shopping display on Expedia Group's worldwide sites. We invite you to join us in Denver to engage in dynamic discussions and meet with senior decision makers from airlines, airports and industry suppliers. |
| Julie Kyse
Vice President Transport Partner Services Expedia Group |