CAPA TV

AirAsia X Malaysia CEO Benyamin Ismail talks about the airline’s decision to postpone delivery of its first A330-900neo to 2Q2020 and lingering concerns with the Trent 7000 engine. AirAsia X announced in Jul-2018 an increase to its A330-900neo from 66 to 100 aircraft and that deliveries would start in Oct-2019. However, AirAsia X is now planning to order around 75 aircraft. While the first aircraft from the order and for Malaysia has been delayed, the group’s Thai affiliate plans to take two leased A330-900neos in 2Q2019.

Qatar Airways’ CEO, Akbar Al Baker, is never one to hold back his words. On the sidelines of the inaugural CAPA Qatar Aviation Aeropolitical & Regulatory Summit he spoke to CAPA TV about on the ongoing blockade that has restricted the airline’s regional flying, how it has responded and how it intends to continue to innovate both with its onboard product and service and with its flight operations as new aircraft like the Boeing 777X and Airbus A321neoLR arrive during the next decade.

RwandAir has emerged as one of East Africa’s prominent air carriers with a network that now extends outside of the region. Its CEO Yvonne Manzi Makolo reveals fleet and network plans for 2019 that will see the arrival of additional Airbus A330s and the airline’s first Boeing 737MAXs to support growth in Africa and into China and the United States of America (USA). She discusses the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) and how it would support RwandAir’s own development and how the airline is working to support its future operations through training and MRO initiatives.

Aviation is a global industry and this year it will safely meet the transport needs of 4.6 billion travellers. IATA’s director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac defines aviation as the Business of Freedom, but this performance could not be achieved without commonly understood and implemented rules of the game. “Regulation is vitally important to aviation,” he explains, but this should be in the form of smarter regulation, a concept he describes as more “common sense than it is rocket science”.

All eyes are on Africa as it works to deliver a long-promised liberalisation to enhance air connectivity within the Continent, now under the guise of the African Union backed Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM). Abderahmane Berthe, secretary general of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) provides an update on the latest progress with SAATM.

An agreement in principle has been reached between Qatar and the European Union on a new wide-ranging air service agreement, which after initialling will go through the legal process to reach a position it can presented to Europe’s member states for final signing. Henrik Hololei, director general mobility and transport at the European Commission says new aviation agreements deliver a holistic approach and “are more than just about traffic rights”. Fresh from announcing the terms of agreement he spoke to CAPA TV on the sidelines of the CAPA Qatar Aviation Aeropolitical & Regulatory Summit about the talks and the European Union’s hopes for future agreements.

Airports increasing working in a highly collaborative fashion with LCCs to win and retain air services. How are LCCs different to say attracting a full service carrier or a carrier from a key growth market like China or India.

• What lessons can be learned from airlines and airports who have succeeded in this?
• How can airports service the evolving needs of LCCs?

Moderator: ASM, Senior Vice President, Tony Griffin
Panel:

• Budapest Airport, Chief Commercial Officer, Kam Jandu
• Genki International Partners, Executive Chairman & Managing Director, Andrew Cowen
• GMR Airports, Advisor, Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad
• London Stansted Airport, Chief Commercial Officer, Aboudy Nasser

• Features need to be considered in funding new and established LCCs?
• Which funding models are most attractive to LCCS?
• What roles have the OEMs played in LCC expansion?
• Are markets large enough to support all the new orders?

Moderator: CAPA - Centre for Aviation, Advisor, John Thomas
Panel:

• BNP Paribas, Head of Aviation Asia Pacific, Pierre Briens
• BOC Aviation, Head of Strategy & Market Research, Peter Negline
• GECAS, Vice President Marketing, Moushumi Kirtania

• What expectations do corporate travellers have for an LCC?
• What do corporate travel buyers look for when partnering with an LCC?
• How does an LCC contract differ from full service carriers?
• What can LCCs do to ensure they are included in corporate programmes?

Moderator: ACTE, Regional Director, Asia, Benson Tang
Panel:

• Autodesk, Travel Manager - Asia Pacific, Adriana Nainggolan
• Corporate Travel Management, General Manager, Eugene Tan
• Rio Tinto, Global Head - Travel & Expense, Michael Molloy
• Travel Bridge, Director, John Holden

Perspectives on building a LCC in modern Saudi Arabia 
flyadeal, Chief Executive Officer, Con Korfiatis