CAPA Latin America Aviation & LCCs Summit
TUEDSDAY 11 September 2018
| 08:00 | Registration, Networking & Coffee |
| 09:00 | Chairman's Welcome CAPA - Centre for Aviation, Advisor, John Thomas |
| SESSION 1 | |
| 09:05 | Overview of LCC development in Latin America
The LCC sector undoubtedly is confronted with the greatest global expansion opportunity in Latin America as hundreds of millions of people enter the middle class across the region. Huge new travel markets await. Across the region, second tier cities are emerging that offer great promise to LCCs as flag carriers defend their traditional hubs. But how do the region’s fledgling LCCs stay true to their business model of high efficiency? How can they drive the next step change in unit cost (CASK) reduction? Will it be driven by new aircraft technology, better supplier deals, greater operational flexibility or a combination of these? The LCC sector undoubtedly is confronted with the greatest global expansion opportunity in Latin America as hundreds of millions of people enter the middle class across the region. Huge new travel markets await. Across the region, second tier cities are emerging that offer great promise to LCCs as flag carriers defend their traditional hubs. Today, LCCs operate the majority of seats in the two largest domestic air travel markets of Brazil and Mexico and have a growing presence in Chile and Colombia. Yet LCCs also face inherent difficulties in achieving meaningful growth in this region, because of factors such as long distances between large O & D markets (where sector time is often in excess of 3.5 hours), relatively thin markets, high charges and taxes, regulatory inhibition and lack of secondary airports. Given such constraints, how do the region’s fledgling LCCs stay true to their business model of high efficiency? How can they drive the next step change in unit cost (CASK) reduction? Will it be driven by new aircraft technology, better supplier deals, greater operational flexibility or a combination of these?
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| 09:25 | Airline Keynote: "Viva Air promoter of the LCC model in the region" Viva Air, President & CEO, Felix Antelo [Download Presentation] |
| 09:45 | The evolution of LCC business models, vs traditional business model, in Latin America
Latin America’s high internet penetration, historically high fares and a growing middle class provide ideal conditions for the growth of the LCC model, but as with other markets worldwide, low cost carriers in Latin America have taken on a variety of permutations in response to varied operating conditions in each individual market. Just as their full service peers have hybridised and adopted characteristics more commonly found in LCCs, many of Latin America’s LCCs have also taken on traditional full service carrier attributes such as premium seating, alliances and codesharing. For example, Brazilian low cost carriers Azul and GOL openly target the lucrative business passenger market and have always stuck to a hybrid model from their inception, in contrast with ULCCs such as Volaris and JetSMART, who adhere to true low cost principles - although even that is changing now with the former forging a codeshare with Frontier.
Moderator: ICF Aviation, Principal, Carlos Ozores
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| 10:30 |
Coffee Break & Networking
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| SESSION 2 | |
| 11:00 | Revolution is underway! Who’s driving low cost travel around the region?
Millennials have come of age in an era where digitalisation and the widespread availability of cheaper flights have made travel more attractive and accessible. Inquisitive and constantly connected, millennials are embracing the internet and mobile technologies during their travels and have been at the forefront of driving changes in the way travel is distributed and consumed.We profile the travel preferences of this crucial traveller segment, who are expected to drive much of the demand for LCC seats in Latin America.
Moderator: HEICO Aerospace, Business Development Officer, Alex de Gunten
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| 11:45 | Greasing the wheels. How do we optimise the selling environment to access the huge growth in the middle classes?
Latin America’s LCCs face challenges in selling seats to potential customers because the region’s airline distribution market is highly fragmented, and traditional third party channels generally only have access to a small portion of a market’s total airline content. Thus far, Latin American LCCs have mostly relied on direct online sales or metasearch companies to distribute their inventory, which helps keep the overall cost per acquisition low while driving ancillary revenue. But what more can be done to bridge the gap between the availability of LCC content and the ability for their target consumers to access it?
Moderator: IATA, Regional Director, Financial & Distribution Services, The Americas, Alicia Lines
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| 12:30 | Airline Keynote Q&A Avianca, CEO, Hernán Rincón |
| 13:00 | Lunch Break & Networking |
| 14:00 | Overcoming infrastructure constraints: What is needed from the airports?
One significant barrier to higher LCC growth in Latin America is high airport costs, lack of adequate airport infrastructure and the scarcity of secondary airports. Major airports in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru are overcrowded, a problem that will only worsen in the near term without adequate remedies. By not addressing the urgent infrastructure needs of the region, IATA says Latin America will leave USD42 billion of unrealised economic benefits on the table by 2034, a period during which passenger growth in Latin America is expected to double and the air transport industry’s contribution to regional GDP could jump from USD140 billion to USD322 billion.
Moderator: ICF Aviation, Principal, Carlos Ozores
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| 14:45 | CEO Roundtable: Latin America LCC leaders divulge the key ingredients for successful and sustainable growth.
Moderator: HEICO Aerospace, Business Development Officer, Alex de Gunten
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| 15:30 | Summit Wrap |
| 15:35 |
Closing Coffee Break & Networking
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