CAPA Global Airport Leaders' Forum

• What are the big aviation trends?

• Will protectionism slow airline growth?

• Where is airport investment focused, where will airport ownership change hands, where is the fleet growth going, and where will traffic flourish? Do they correlate?

• Global aviation markets outlook – what are the implications for primary and secondary hubs

CAPA – Centre for Aviation, Executive Chairman, Peter Harbison

The 'privatisation' of airports has been established as an activity for 30 years this year. Bearing in mind that some countries (even developed ones like the USA and Canada) are still uncertain about it, has it proven to be a good thing? Is the way the industry is regulated at odds with the needs of investors and if so how can a successful marriage be ensured? The PPP (3P) transaction is increasingly popular: is it the future, globally? In an age of continuing consolidation and hybridisation of modes, both short and long haul, what is the justification today for investing in low cost terminals, let alone entire airports? Moderator:  Macquarie Bank, Division Director, Head of Cross Divisional Projects, Corporate & Asset Finance, Peter Farthing Panel Members:

• CCR USA, President & CEO, Amit Rikhy
• Egis, Director Middle East & South Asia, Jacques Khoriaty
• HRL Morrison & Co, Head of Asset Management, Steven Fitzgerald
• Oman Airports Management Company, CEO, Sheikh Aimen Sultan Al-Hosni
• TAV Group, Board Member, President & CEO, Dr. Sani Şener

LCCs, hybrids and full service airlines are meeting customer demand in very different ways. Do the airports that serve them really understand the diverging business models and providing infrastructure and services to maximise the opportunity. And, where the demands conflict, how do airports respond most effectively. Moderator: CAPA - Centre for Aviation, Executive Chairman, Peter Harbison Panel Members:

• AACO, Secretary General, Abdul Wahab Teffaha
• IATA, Assistant Director, Airport Development, Martin Braun
• Pittsburgh International Airport, CEO, Christina Cassotis
• Shell Aviation, GM Asia/Middle East, Richard Pereira

• Whether dedicated LCC facilities are needed; and
• How to deal with shifting needs as LCCs seek to connect with FSCs.
• Airport-airline relationships: Can airlines protect against the goalposts shifting under airport ownership changes?

• Is increasing competition at primary airports taking on new meanings?
• What implications are there for infrastructure investment and facilities conversion?
• How fast and to what extent will LCCs want greater connectivity, online and interline?
• How important a feature will this become in competition between airports – and to what extent will regulatory matters intervene?

Much will depend on the profile of airlines currently serving the airport – and what segments the airport is targeting for the future. This panel looks at this complex array of issues from various perspectives. Moderator: Airbiz, Managing Director, Greg Fordham Panel Members:

• Air Black Box Company, Head of Product, Timothy O'Neil-Dunne
• GMR Group, CEO, Corporate Airports Sector, PS Nair
• SITA, Director Airport Solution Line, Carlos Kaduoka

Airport retail continues to expand, as airports become more adept at exposing their retailers. A global market which is worth anywhere from USD30-50 billion is highly attractive. Yet airlines have scarcely scratched the surface of this massive market. Now, as wifi spreads across aircraft where passengers can be 'captive' for 15 hours and more, the potential for tapping into the huge traveller spend suddenly blossoms. Add to that the growing sophistication of data analytics and the potential for selling to specific passenger targets lends an extraordinary dimension.

It does not need to be a zero sum game though; there is a lot of upside. The market for online sales is unlimited, even marketing houses!

• Could onboard wifi actually enhance airport retail sales and allow for even greater penetration
• How do airport retailers currently target and profile passengers?

• ForwardKeys, CMO, Laurens van den Oever
• Market Square Consult, Managing Director, Johan Schölvinck
• SITAONAIR, Manager Strategy & Marketing, MEIA, Neale Faulkner

• Are there lessons to be learned from China’s expansion
• What is President Trump doing to upgrade Infrastructure and how will it be funded?
• Can privatisation be the solution?

• BKH Aviation, Aviation Consultant, Barry Humphreys
• CCR USA, President & CEO, Amit Rikhy
• ForwardKeys, Director Airport Development, Ged Brown
• Nyras Capital, Partner, David Huttner

There are numerous airports that have capacity issues. Slots are key to the issue, but more slots can be created through ACDM, rapid exit taxiways, more effective use of stand planning and optimisation, time based separation, terminal throughput and turn times, slot management practices, incentivising upgauging, and many other measures. Sometimes the issue is not runway capacity at all, but the constraints are political or related to terminal or aircraft parking infrastructure.

• What can the congested gateways do to increase capacity and ‘squeeze more juice out of the asset’?
• What lessons can be learned from the Gulf and other regions?
• Do airlines need to take the initiative on airport infrastructure? Should airlines build their own airports?

Panel Members:

• Airport Coordination Limited, Managing Director, Christopher Bosworth
• Amadeus, Head of Global Business Development, & Solution Design, Airport IT, Iyad Hindiyeh
• European Commission, Deputy DG MOVE, Matthew Baldwin
• GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation, Chief Executive Advisor, Andrew Harrison
• Royal Schiphol Group, Director Corporate Development, Peter van Grinsven

• What role do the public and private sectors typically play?
• Where do they go from here?
  • Can any airport develop one; or
  • Are they restricted to an elite 'Premier League' where metropolitan size, scope and location are the deciding factors?
• Does the presence of an airport city become the main driver of passenger and freight growth?
• If so, should the airport city dominate the airport management's strategic thinking?
• Are there negative socio-economic impacts, such as the loss of green belt land displacement and exclusion of communities and creation of economic enclaves?

• Airbiz, Managing Director, Greg Fordham
• Aviapolis Helsinki, Project Manager, Mari Peltomäki
• GMR Group, CEO, Corporate Airports Sector, PS Nair
• Imam Khomeini Airport City Company, Director International Cooperation, Ahmadreza Bayati
• Oman Airports Management Company, Senior Manager Strategic Planning, Nagy Abu Zeid
• Osmond Lange Architects, Managing Director, Jonathan Manning
• WiedemannConsultants, Managing Director, Dr Mirjam Wiedemann