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    CAPA Airline Leader Summit Asia 2026

    Chitose, Japan
    1-2 Oct 2026

    Day 1 - Thursday 1 October 2026

    8:00 AM - 9:00 AM - Registration, Networking & Coffee

    9:00 AM - 9:10 AM - CAPA Welcome

    9:10 AM - 9:25 AM - State of the Industry

    Adrian Schofield - Senior Air Transport Editor - Asia-Pacific, Aviation Week Network

    9:25 AM - 9:40 AM - Host Welcome

    Masaki Yamazaki - CEO, Hokkaido Airports

    9:40 AM - 10:10 AM - Airline Leader Interview: HK Express, CEO, Jeanette Mao

    10:10 AM - 10:20 AM - CAPA Aviation Awards for Excellence

    Large Asia Airport of the Year & Small/Medium Asia Airport of the Year Awards

    10:20 AM - 10:25 AM - Introduction to Break

    Viktoriya Soubra - Director of Sales, iCoupon Global

    10:25 AM - 11:00 AM - Coffee Break

    11:00 AM - 11:40 AM - Connecting More, Growing Smarter: The Future of Airline Networks

    Asia offers some of the world's greatest opportunities for aviation growth, with rising passenger demand, expanding tourism markets and an increasingly diverse range of travel patterns. But capturing that opportunity requires airlines to think beyond simply adding capacity and opening new routes.

    This panel will explore how airlines, airports and other aviation stakeholders are developing smarter approaches to network growth - identifying where connectivity can create the greatest value, how new markets can be developed, and how networks can evolve alongside changing passenger demand.

    The discussion will examine the role of partnerships, market development, new connectivity models and strategic investment in building stronger networks across Asia and beyond. It will also consider how airlines can balance growth ambitions with the need to build commercially sustainable networks that deliver value for passengers, destinations and airline partners.

    Key discussion points:

    • How airlines identify the markets and connectivity opportunities with the greatest potential.
    • New approaches to building networks and serving emerging travel demand
    • The role of partnerships and collaboration in extending connectivity and opening new markets
    • How airlines, airports and destinations can work together to stimulate sustainable traffic growth

    Panel:

    • Moderator: Oriel Morrison-Higgins, Founder, Shift Global
    • Benyamin Ismail, General Manager, AirAsia X Malaysia
    • Ross Leggett, Senior Managing Executive, Japan Airlines
    • Kamal Hingorani, Chief Customer Officer, SpiceJet

    11:40 AM - 12:10 PM - Airline Leader Interview: ANA Holdings, EVP & Group Sustainability Officer, Tomoko Hoya

    12:10 PM - 12:50 PM - The Preferred Path to Network Expansion in APAC

    The Asia-Pacific aviation market is defined as much by fierce, margin-straining competition as by its rapidly growing demand for domestic and international travel. This has resulted in fleet limitations, infrastructure bottlenecks and market fragmentation that makes traditional network expansion challenging, despite overall aggregate capacity growth in the past several years.

    The traditional approach of adding aircraft and launching new routes employed by major global carriers is less efficient for performance-LCCs serving the APAC region. Increasingly, these airlines are exploring partnership-driven models to expand their reach without the extensive capital investment of fleet expansion or the time- and resource-intensive process of establishing formal alliances and codeshare agreements.

    This panel will explore how partnerships, including virtual interlining and multi-carrier connectivity, are the key to entering new APAC markets, extending airlines' networks, and better serving increasingly complex traveller demand and itineraries across the region.

    • Why APAC's market structure makes partnerships the preferred vector for network growth;
    • Why LCCs play an important role in the APAC region relative to other global markets, and how sustainable network growth augments that role;
    • How connected travel technology opens new origin-destination routes efficiently and effectively;
    • How to balance customer experience, disruption handling, and operational complexity in a fragmented marketplace.

    Panel:

    • Moderator: Richard Maslen, Head of Analysis, CAPA
    • Marisa Lucas Ugena, VP Customer Marketing, Airbus
    • Hugh Aitken, COO, Dohop
    • Turbold Tserenkhuu, Head of Commercial Division, Hunnu Air
    • Bernard Hsu, CCO, Tigerair Taiwan

    12:50 PM - 12:55 PM - Introduction to Lunch

    Jeremy Archer, Vice President Client Services - APAC, TA Connections

    12:55 PM - 2:00 PM - Lunch Break

    2:00 PM - 2:20 PM - Airline Leader Interview: VietJet Air, Vice Chairwoman and Vice President of Finance - CFO, Phuong Ho Ngoc Yen

    2:20 PM - 3:00 PM - Driving Aviation's Future: Technology and Consumer Innovation

    The aviation industry stands at a transformative crossroads where digital innovation and evolving consumer expectations are converging to redefine competitive success. Airlines and airports must simultaneously advance their technological capabilities, deliver consumer-centric experiences, and strategically expand into high-growth markets to achieve sustainable growth. This session explores how aviation leaders can integrate these critical priorities to capture new opportunities while building resilient, future-ready organisations.

    Digital transformation and technology integration are revolutionising the aviation industry, enabling greater operational efficiency and enhanced passenger experiences. By leveraging advanced technologies such as AI, IoT, and big data, airlines and airports can optimise processes, improve decision-making, and streamline operations. Digital solutions are also reshaping the passenger journey, offering personalised services, seamless check-ins, and real-time updates to elevate customer satisfaction.

    Innovative loyalty programmes are becoming increasingly central to consumer engagement strategies, evolving beyond traditional points-based systems to offer personalised rewards, experiential benefits, and seamless integration across travel ecosystems. Airlines are leveraging data analytics and AI to create dynamic loyalty offerings that respond to individual passenger preferences, driving repeat business and deepening customer relationships. Modern loyalty programmes also serve as powerful tools for capturing valuable consumer insights, enabling airlines to refine their service offerings and create differentiated value propositions in competitive markets.

    However, the increasing reliance on technology brings cybersecurity challenges that must be addressed to safeguard sensitive data and ensure the resilience of aviation systems.

    Panel:

    • Moderator: Alan Polivnick, Partner, Watson, Farley & Williams
    • Shinji Nishio, COO, ZIPAIR Tokyo
    • Peter Smith, SVP Travel, Cover Genius
    • Athanasios Titonis, CEO, Aboitiz Operating Airports
    • Kamal Hingorani, Chief Customer Officer, SpiceJet

    3:00 PM - 3:15 PM - Inside Cathay Pacific's Global Crew Accommodation Model

    In this customer-led fireside chat, Jason Pearson and Vivian Dsouza, will discuss how Cathay Pacific manages Crew accommodation across a complex global network.

    The session will explore the procurement and operational considerations behind managing Crew accommodation and associated layover logistics across 85+ destinations in 33+ countries, including cost control, supplier governance, service consistency, operational reliability, and service stability across the Crew layover experience.

    Speakers:

    • Vivian Dsouza, VP Business Development - APAC, Accommodations Plus International
    • Jason Pearson, Airports and Ground Services Procurement Manager, Cathay Pacific Airways

    3:15 PM - 3:30 PM - CAPA Aviation Awards for Excellence

    CAPA Lifetime Achievement Award

    3:30 PM - 4:05 PM - Coffee Break

    4:05 PM - 4:20 PM - Rolls-Royce in Japan

    In this session Susumu Kaminaga - President of Rolls-Royce Japan Co. Ltd. - will give an overview of Rolls-Royce in Japan, highlighting the key role of supply chain and partners in Japan to the current and future success of Rolls-Royce.

    Susumu Kaminaga - President, Rolls-Royce Japan Co. Ltd

    4:20 PM - 5:00 PM - Navigating Payment Challenges in Asia's Airline Industry

    Ramanathan Thiagarajan is the Chief Financial Officer and Head of Payments at AirAsia MOVE, where he shapes the Group's financial strategy, governance, payment ecosystem, and enterprise transformation across Southeast Asia.

    Working closely with the Board and senior leadership, he drives sustainable growth, capital efficiency, commercial performance, and financial discipline across a complex, multi-market digital travel business. He also leads the Group's payment strategy, focusing on payment orchestration, merchant-of-record capabilities, cost optimisation, fraud and risk management, and improving the overall customer payment experience.

    With over 15 years of experience across e-commerce, aviation, banking, and energy, Ramanathan brings deep expertise in capital raising, M&A, enterprise risk management, governance, and large-scale finance transformation. He has led regional finance operations and built future-ready teams that integrate data, technology, and commercial insight into decision-making.

    Before joining AirAsia MOVE, he held senior roles at AmBank Group and KPMG Malaysia, specialising in audit, risk, and financial advisory for major financial institutions.

    A Chartered Accountant with ICAEW and a holder of CISA, CRISC, and CFE certifications, Ramanathan is passionate about redefining the modern CFO as a transformative business partner-combining financial discipline, digital innovation, and strong governance to create sustainable long-term value.

    • Moderator: Reggie Weston, Executive Director, Business Development, 2C2P by Antom
    • Ramanathan Thiagarajan, CFO, AirAsia MOVE

    5:00 PM - 5:25 PM Airline Leader Interview: Peach Aviation, Chief Corporate Planning Officer, Saturo Endo

    5:25 PM - 5:30 PM - CAPA Day 1 Closing Remarks

    7:00 PM - 10:30 PM - Joint GAD/CAPA Networking Dinner hosted by Rolls-Royce

    This year's summit dinner, hosted by Rolls-Royce, offers a memorable departure from the traditional awards gala, inviting delegates to immerse themselves in one of Hokkaido's most iconic cultural and culinary experiences.

    Set within the magnificent Sapporo Beer Museum and Beer Garden, the evening takes place inside a striking red-brick building dating back to 1890, originally built as a sugar refinery during Hokkaido's pioneering years before becoming a malting factory for Sapporo Beer in 1903. Today, it stands as a beautifully preserved heritage building and home to Japan's only museum dedicated entirely to beer, celebrating the history of Sapporo Beer, first brewed in 1876. Rather than a formal ballroom, guests will dine beneath soaring timber beams and exposed brickwork in one of Japan's most famous beer halls, where history, architecture and local culture combine to create an atmosphere unlike any other conference dinner.

    The centrepiece of the evening is Hokkaido's famous Genghis Khan (Jingisukan) barbecue, an interactive dining experience where guests cook premium lamb and fresh vegetables on a distinctive dome-shaped grill built into the centre of each table. This is a lively, communal and authentic Japanese dining tradition designed to encourage conversation, connection and plenty of fun. The venue is energetic, the grills create a warm and occasionally smoky atmosphere, and the experience is intentionally hands-on, with freshly poured Sapporo beer available to complement the meal for those who wish.

    We encourage delegates to opt in if this style of dining appeals to them, as the evening has been chosen to provide a genuine taste of Hokkaido's culture. For those willing to embrace something different, it promises to be one a most unique and memorable evening of connections and great food!