CAPA World Aviation Summit & Awards for Excellence

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

28-29 Nov 2023

Day 2 - Wednesday 29 November 2023
09:00-09:05	Chairperson’s Welcome
09:05-09:15	Keynote Address from ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar
09:15-09:45	Airline Leader Interview Moderator: Strikitsa Consulting, Managing Director, Yolanta Strikitsa Air Arabia, Group CEO, Adel Ali
09:45-10:30	CAPA Think Tank: Show me the money - The outlook for aviation financing With the airline industry saddled with debt from the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of financing on the increase and aircraft deliveries trending towards pre-pandemic levels, what is the outlook for commercial aircraft financing? Airline credit ratings took a hit during the pandemic. How do airlines build back their credit ratings while battling heavy debt loads and the increased cost of capital? Airline lessors are expected to fund around 50% (or more) of global fleet deliveries in the next year. How well placed are lessors to absorb a higher cost of debt? Outside of banks, lessors and internal cash, how are alternative financing options changing? Environment, Society and Governance (ESG) issues have been hugely important in the finance sector. How does sustainability linked financing and other ESG elements factor into consideration for aircraft financing? Moderator: CAPA - Centre for Aviation, Chief Financial Analyst, Jonathan Wober Panel: TAP, CFO, Goncalo Pires Avolon, Chairman Asia Pacific & Middle East, Simon Hanson Etihad, CFO Raffael Quintas
10:30-10:40	Keynote Presentation {Download Presentation} Airhelp, CEO, Tomasz Pawliszy
10:40-11:10	Airline Leader Interview with Avianca CEO Adrian Neuhauser Moderator: BBC, TV & Radio Presenter, Nuala McGovern Avianca, CEO, Adrian Neuhauser
11:10-11:15	CAPA Airline Leader Summit - World 2024 Announcement
11:15-11:45	Coffee break & Networking
11:45-12:25	The Passenger Experience Revolution: Airports and the post-COVID traveller COVID-19 accelerated a raft of trends when it came to processing passengers at airports. Passengers also shifted their expectations and demands about what they want out of their airport experience. In response, airports have become more agile, embracing new systems that are personalised to the individual passenger, bringing on on-demand services, contactless journeys and other changes to the passenger experience. What are the priorities for airports with the ongoing shift to digitalisation? How has the demand for services changed since the start of the pandemic? What physical changes to airport spaces are occurring as airports re-define the passenger experience? What are the differences in digitalisation strategies between large hubs and smaller and regional airports? Moderator: LEK, Partner, Ian Kershaw Panel: Berlin Brandenburg Airport, CEO, Aletta von Massenbach International Airport of Querétaro, Commercial Director, Juan Carlos Corbella Arreola CAG Holdings, CEO, Amit Rikhy Abu Dhabi Airports, Vice President Customer Experience & Relationship Management, Muna Al Ghainam
12:25-13:10	CAPA Think Tank - Looking forward to 2024 and beyond Over the past three years the aviation industry has been constantly looking back to life before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world. And why wouldn’t it? The 2000s can be fairly described as a strong decade for global aviation, with an additional 1.8 billion annual passengers taking to the air by the end of the decade. Annual traffic had risen from 2.67 billion in 2010 to 4.46 billion in 2019 and the stable operating environment provided a platform for airlines to deliver stronger financial performance. After constantly comparing the weaker performance of 2020, 2021 and 2022 with pre-pandemic data and highlighting the gradual recovery of air transportation, now is the time to stop looking back and start looking forward and not lose sight of the challenges that lay ahead. The world’s aviation markets have awoken from their COVID-19 slumber. However, behind this strong performance and declarations of numerous airlines that demand remains quite strong, one glaring question remains – when will this thirst for travel born from the pandemic be quenched? No definitive answer is emerging, as airline executives try to determine the shape demand will take in 2024 and beyond. Moderator: KornFerry, Senior Partner, Michael Bell Panel: Etihad, Chief Revenue Officer, Arik De Arajet, CEO, Victor Pacheco Tus Airways, CEO, Ahmed Aly CAE, Director Product Management - Airports Management and In-flight, Prasanth Mohan Abu Dhabi Airports, CIO, Andrew Murphy
13:10	Chairperson’s wrap up
13:00-14:00	Closing Lunch & Networking