CAPA Airline Leader Summit Australia Pacific

Cairns, Australia

31-Jul - 1-Aug 2025

Day 1 - Thursday 31st July, 2025
08:00-09:00	Registration, Networking & Coffee
09:00-09:05	Chairperson's Welcome "CAPA acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land and sea on which we operate. We acknowledge the continuing connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people have to Country and the strength and knowledge that they bring to our community. We pay respects to Elders past present and emerging and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples."
09:05-09:20	Host Welcome Cairns Airport CEO, Richard Barker Queensland Government, Minister for the Environment and Tourism and Minister for Science and Innovation, The Honourable Andrew Powell MP
09:20-09:55	Airline Leader Interview Virgin Australia CEO Dave Emerson Virgin Australia is Australia's second-largest airline and one of the few carriers that has managed to successfully diversify across the airline value chain. Under the leadership of Dave Emerson, appointed as Chief Executive Officer in March 2025 after previously serving as the airline's Chief Commercial Officer, Virgin Australia continues its transformation journey with a renewed focus on delivering value and choice to customers while strengthening its position in the competitive aviation market. Virgin Australia, CEO, Dave Emerson Moderator: APAC Network, CEO, Oriel Morrison
09:50-10:35	Managing risk in a volatile global climate In this exclusive panel, industry leaders will share insights on how they manage the diverse and ever-evolving risks affecting the region. The discussion will focus on the impact of fluctuating fuel prices, exchange rates, and volatile global markets, with airline panellists offering a deep dive into their approaches to cost management and hedging strategies. Key Themes: Geopolitical shifts, such as tensions between the USA and China, including their implications for route access and open skies agreements. Future of network development, considering the changing landscape of global travel. The reliability and strategic importance of international alliances, including collaborations with major carriers like Emirates and Qatar Airways. Responding to the rapid pace of technological advancements and AI, evaluating both the risks and rewards of these innovations. Navigating the complexities of ESG commitments and shareholder activism during times of network and business stress. Ongoing challenges of workforce shortages. Moderator: Aviation Projects, Managing Director, Keith Tonkin Panel: ACCC, General Manager - Infrastructure and Transport, Matthew Schroder ACT, Chief Minister, Andrew Barr Cairns Airport, CEO, Richard Barker Virgin Australia, CFO, Race Strauss
10:35-11:05	Coffee Break & Networking
11:05-11:25	CAPA State of the Industry Join CAPA - Centre for Aviation, the world's most trusted source for aviation intelligence, for a comprehensive snapshot of the state of commercial aviation across the globe. Featuring exclusive insights generated from CAPA's extensive data and aviation knowledge tools, this session will not only examine key performance metrics for aviation, but will examine implications for major trends in regional aviation that are shaping the industry's outlook.
11:25-12:15	International update: Airline strategies in the Australasian and Asia-Pacific markets Australasia is a key market for many Asia-Pacific airlines, both for point-to-point and connecting traffic. This expert panel will discuss Australia's role in airline network strategies, as well as carriers' plans and latest market moves. Competition is fierce in Australia's international sector, particularly for transit traffic, so how do airlines ensure they can compete profitably? The panel will also discuss trends and challenges in the broader Asia-Pacific region, and how airlines are adapting to an uncertain environment. Critical discussion points: Updates on airline strategies in the Australian market How changing market dynamics and external challenges are affecting airline plans Are inbound and outbound demand well-balanced on Australia's key international routes? The slow recovery of the important Chinese and Japanese outbound travel flows Growing competition for transit traffic - how is this affecting fares, and how do airlines respond? What are the main challenges for international airlines serving Australia? To what extent are air service rights, visas, and airport access curtailing airline plans? Is the long-haul low-cost model finally proving itself in the Asia-Pacific region? Moderator: Aviation Week, Senior Air Transport Editor, Adrian Schofield Panel: BARA, Executive Director, Stephen Pearse Indonesia AirAsia, Head of Indonesia Affairs and Policy, Eddy Krismeidi Soemawilaga Tourism Australia, Executive General Manager of Strategy and Culture, Robert Dougan VietJet Air, VP Commercial, Thanh Huu Ta
12:15-12:20	Lunch sponsor Volt, Senior Vice President, Australia & New Zealand, Kristofer Rogers
12:20-13:30	Lunch Break & Networking
13:30-14:00	Airline Leader Interview with Air New Zealand, CCO, Jeremy O'Brien Air NZ, CCO, Jeremy O'Brien Moderator: Aviation Week, Senior Air Transport Editor, Adrian Schofield
14:00-15:00	Technology in focus: How AI is shifting the technology and distribution landscape for aviation and travel In this two-part session, experts will explore the shifting distribution landscape and examine what changes and improvements are being delivered and promised by new AI technologies. Session Format: This session is designed to provide comprehensive insights into both the changing distribution landscape and AI adoption in travel: The Shifting Distribution Landscape: With the global distribution landscape now more complex and fragmented than ever, this segment will explore the key trends that have tilted the balance in the travel ecosystem. Experts will look at how changing consumer expectations, channel proliferation, technology diffusion and new retailing opportunities are changing the state of play for the sector.. The Impact of AI on Aviation and Travel: Chatbots, large language models, intelligent personalised agents and AI-powered data analysis and content curation are redefining how we research, plan, book and manage our travel. This segment will examine how consumers, as well as aviation and the travel sector at large, are embracing AI and what it means for travel retailing and beyond. Moderator: LEK, Partner, Ian Kershaw Panel: Cover Genius, CTO, Peter Phillips Flight Centre Travel Group, Head of Product - Air and hotel, Sean Sutherland Philippine Airlines, VP Sales & Distribution, Justin Warby
15:00-15:20	Turning Disruptions Into Customer Loyalty Moments with Uber for Business and Menzies Aviation Due to a combination of complex factors from staffing issues to severe weather, flight disruptions today are 300% higher than in 2019. While many disruption causes are unavoidable, this understandably causes passenger frustration. Disruptions are therefore an essential moment to go above-and-beyond to secure customer loyalty. In this panel, leaders from Menzies Aviation will explain how partnering with Uber for Business is empowering them to revolutionise data transparency and visibility, reduce costs, and significantly enhance the passenger experience for many of their airline customers in Australia. Importantly, it does this during the flight disruption moment, as well as supporting transfers, which brings the added benefit of helping secure customer loyalty when service matters most. Moderator: CAPA - Centre for Aviation, Head of Research, Simon Elsegood Panel: Uber for Business, Senior Enterprise Account Manager, Joshua Prendergast Menzies Aviation, SVP Ground Handling - Oceania, Mark Brinkworth Menzies Aviation, Passenger Services Manager, Nicholas Trueman

15:25-15:55	Coffee break & Networking
15:55-16:10	Sustainability Facts - Key Numbers in the Transition to Net Zero Envest Global, VP Asia Pacific, Steve Limbrick
16:10-16:55	Sustainability: Making the net-zero vision a reality Australia has outlined a vision for its aviation industry to reach net zero by 2050, aligning with long term goals already well established by the commercial aviation sector. Now that these commitments are in place, the focus should be transitioning to introducing the right frameworks to put them into action, and setting the regulatory and commercial conditions to make them a reality. This panel will look at where Australia's aviation sector is in relation to the rest of the world with its net-zero journey, what needs to happen in the immediate future to support aviation sustainability and what initiatives are actually achievable in the short term. Moderator: Envest Global, Executive Director, David Wills Panel: Air New Zealand, Chief Sustainability & Corporate Affairs Officer, Kiri Hannifin Boeing, Sustainability Lead - Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific, Dr Kimberly Camrass Qantas, Chief Sustainability Officer, Fiona Messent TTF, CEO, Margy Osmond Virgin Australia, Chief Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Officer, Christian Bennett

16:55-17:00	Day 1 Closing Remarks
19:00-22:30	Networking Dinner