Routes' leader wecomes delegates, outlining more about why Routes is taking place in Quebec as well as what you can expect over the course of the event.
Routes Americas 2019
Québec City, Canada
• 12 – 14 February 2019
Conference Programme
Tuesday, 12 February 2019
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State of the Airline Industry in Latin America
According to the latest forecasts from IATA, the future of the aviation industry in the Americas is promising. The Latin America and Caribbean region will grow by about 3.6 percent annually over the next two decades and by 2037 will carry 731 million passengers per year. That is an additional 371 million passengers annually compared with today.
This session will outline the latest news on the state of the industry in Latin America and Caribbean, including how the region could tackle their largest threats such as safety, infrastructure and the heavy taxes and charges imposed on aviation and air travel in many countries.
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YQB: A world class airport ready for the future
Gaëtan Gagné, President and CEO, Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport
Since its privatization in 2000, Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB) has tripled its traffic going from 643,000 passengers to 1.8 million in 2018. This was not achieved by chance and is rather the result of a strong focus on Passenger First® and a $500 million investment program. With its new state-of-the-art international terminal and an innovative vision for the future, YQB intends to position itself as a major airport in Canada and is ready, more than ever, to deal with the global passenger traffic growth.
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Transformation of the Global Aviation Industry - Revolutionary or Evolutionary Changes?
Nawal Taneja, Aviation Business Strategist, Executive-In-Residence, Fisher College of Business
What's next for global aviation? Will a new era of disruption create new norms in the industry and additional challenges?
One of the world's leading minds in aviation will share his views on the transformational forces on different sectors of the aviation industry; in specific airlines, airports, and aircraft manufacturers.
With a career that spans 45 years in global aviation, Nawal Taneja has worked for and advised major airlines and related businesses worldwide, including serving as the president of a small airline that provided schedule and charter service with jet aircraft and the president of a research organisation that provided consulting services to the air transportation community throughout the world.
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Keynote Address - Air Canada
Ferio Pugliese, Senior Vice President Regional Markets and Government Relations, Air Canada
Mr. Ferio Pugliese, Senior Vice-President, Regional Markets and Government Relations for Air Canada, Skytrax’s Best International Airline in North America in 2018, will provide a keynote address. During his presentation, Mr. Pugliese will share insights into Air Canada’s strategy for future expansion in America and how its diverse product range including Air Canada Mainline, Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Express have provided the flexibility needed for the company to grow its global network. Mr. Pugliese will discuss Air Canada’s fleet replacement and its impacts on connecting passengers to destinations across North America and six inhabited continents. Finally, Mr. Pugliese will review the importance of remaining competitive in a regulatory environment.
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Hear directly from one of the leading figures in aviation on the airline’s major plans for the next few years.
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Hear directly from one of the leading figures in aviation on the airline’s major plans for the next few years.
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Geneviève Guilbault is the Deputy Premier of the Province of Québec, Canada, and the Honorary President of Routes America 2019.
She will officially welcome attendees to the event and provide an overview of the city and region, and their ambitions to grow aviation and traveller networks.
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Connecting the Americas: What’s next for the region’s route ecosystem?
A host of aviation markets across the Americas have long lived within the ecosystem of the US powerhouse so, with ongoing political and economic uncertainty, what does their future hold? With the threat of a potential global trade war looming large and political challenges remaining in some markets, the industry’s growth in the region remains under threat. Despite this, fast-growth markets continue to outpace some of their more established neighbours and need to ensure their development is not stymied.
With President Trump’s hard-line trade policies, what effect could this have on airlines which fly within and to the US? Could the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement affect new and existing routes? Do airlines and airports anticipate growth or shifts in traffic as a result of these deals, and where will new agreements be formed?
Political shifts in Latin America could also have significant impacts on the regional market. Brazil’s new far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro is pushing ahead with a hard-line agenda, while Mexico’s new leftist president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has already put the brakes on a $13.3bn airport project in the country’s capital.
We will bring together carriers from across the Americas to outline what the future skies across the region will look like, and examine the key industry and political requirements to create a flourishing route development industry.
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Hear directly from Tracy Cooper, CEO of Bahamasair on the airline’s major plans for the next few years.
Wednesday, 13 February 2019
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State of the Industry in North America
Filipe Reis, Director, Airports, Passenger, Cargo & Security, IATA
According to the latest forecasts from IATA, the future of the aviation industry in the Americas is promising. The North American region will grow by about 2.4 percent annually over the next two decades and by 2037 will carry 1.4 billion passengers per year. That is an additional 527 million compared with today.
This session will outline the latest news on the state of the industry in the Americas, including how the region could tackle their largest threats such as safety, infrastructure and the heavy taxes and charges imposed on aviation and air travel in many countries.
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CEO Keynote Interview - Jetlines
Hear directly from Jetlines’ CEO Javier Suarez on the fledgling airline’s plans for the next few years. The carrier is expected to start operating in spring 2019 and, as part of his plans in his new role, Javier is working to develop Jetlines as a tech-driven airline that takes inspiration from some of the world's leading technology companies. He has over 15 years of airline experience with expertise in most commercial functions, strategy and operations. Most recently, Javier was Vice President, Network Planning, Revenue Management, E-Commerce with ultra low-cost carrier VivaAerobus. His previous experience includes holding progressively senior roles with Vueling Airlines from 2010 to 2014. Jetlines plans to operate flights across Canada and provide non-stop service from Canada to the US, Mexico and the Caribbean.
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CEO Keynote Interview - Swoop
Hear from Steven Greenway, the President of WestJet’s ultra low-cost subsidiary Swoop. With more than 20 years of airline experience and an emphasis on low-cost carriers (LCC), Steven’s most recent roles were as CEO of reward-U, the pioneering LCC loyalty program of HK Express, and as the Board Director of Zuji, one of Asia's leading online travel agencies. He has also worked in a variety of executive and leadership roles at airlines including Japanese LCC Peach Aviation, Virgin Blue, Virgin Atlantic and Qantas. Swoop launched in summer 2018 operating domestic flights in Canada and has since opened new international routes including the US and Mexico.
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Higher wages, higher fuel prices, higher pressure: Low and ultra-low-cost airlines’ profitability
Latin American low-cost carriers continue full steam ahead in their efforts to stimulate traffic in the region, while, Swoop, Flair and Jetlines are new contenders in North America’s ultra-low-cost airline market.
However, conditions remain challenging and continue to put pressure on margins. IATA has predicted that fuel costs will increase by 25 per cent this year; being 24 per cent of airlines’ total operating expenditure. Doug Parker, the CEO of American Airlines, cautioned attendees at IATA’s annual general meeting that higher fuel prices are the “new normal” and carriers will have to adapt. So with profitability under pressure, an increase in ticket prices and staff reductions are potential measures to keep costs down.
In addition to this, pilot shortage will continue to have a damaging impact on American businesses and communities. How can we tackle this problem and ensure aviation continues to be a driver of economic success?
How are LCC and ultra-low-cost carriers going to face these market changes? Is the way they operate sustainable in a long term? What is their strategy to continue offering low prices in a profitable way? For LCCs which haven’t hedged their fuel prices, how will fares and capacity be affected?
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Sun Country rolled out the largest network expansion in its history in January 2019, adding 19 new nonstop routes. Now operating of 86 routes across 53 airports, which is an almost 40 percent growth in routes served since June 2018.
How does this fast-growing carrier view its ambitions for the next few years? We hear direct from CEO Jude Bricker as he outlines its current and future targets.
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CEO Keynote Interview - Flair Airlines
Hear direct from Jim Scott on how this expansion will take place, its main network targets, and how it aims to ensure its profitability will scale in line with its growth.
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How to really engage your stakeholders to support route development
Tourism markets can only be developed when all stakeholders work collaboratively.
Who are the different stakeholders and what role do they play in route development? What will the tour operator market look like in the coming years?
How important is the cruise industry to aviation and can the two work more closely together? How much time and resources are destinations putting with cruise as well as with airlines? How this can benefit tourism?
At this session you will explore what are the costs and barriers that challenge a good collaborative approach between stakeholders and learn from the best practice examples on how to overcome them.
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How traffic forecasts can help you secure new routes
Traffic forecasts are the key to route development, providing evidence of a route’s potential success in terms of passenger numbers and yield. This session will explore how to utilise appropriate market data, help you understand how successful your target route can be, and offer tips on how to pitch to airlines.
Expert consultancy ASM will provide this exclusive Masterclass to Routes Americas attendees.
Thursday, 14 February 2019
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How Alibaba’s technology is revolutionising the online travel market
Raphael Lanfant, Head of Travel partnerships, Alibaba Group North America
Fliggy is an online travel agent platform owned by Alibaba, providing plane tickets, hotel booking services, tour guide services, visa application and vacation packages to 200 million registered users. Airlines, airports, destinations and other tourism stakeholders have successfully partnered with Fliggy to influence Chinese travellers through key digital and social channels.
Singapore Airlines, Finnair, Jetstar, American Airlines and Turkish Airlines are some of the carriers that have partnered with Fliggy allowing members to use mileage points earned by their customers at either company, giving Chinese travellers greater flexibility and more opportunities to receive extra perks and benefits as they take to the air.
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Keynote Address – The future of aircraft technology
Over the past decade, there has been a seismic shift in the way airports and airlines operate with new business models coming to the fore.
Emerging technologies are changing the face of aviation and continue to offer a glimpse of what the industry of tomorrow could look like. Aircraft could be capable of double current speeds, operating at half the cost with minimal environmental impact.
This is the focus of Zunum Aero, aiming to reshape the regional air travel market with hybrid electrical aircraft.
Backed by Boeing HorizonX and JetBlue Technology Ventures, Zunum Aero has been working on a range of hybrid electric regional aircraft since 2013.
In this session CEO and founder Ashish Kumar speaks about the next great developments in the field of electric propulsion and the vision to eliminate all short-haul emissions by 2040.
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Biometrics, smart tech, innovation…
How will the aviation industry integrate emerging tech such as biometrics into their operation?
New technologies are disrupting and transforming the air travel experience as we know it today. Airports and their stakeholders are rapidly adopting innovative capabilities such as biometrics to enhance operational efficiency and improve the passenger experience. But, they should do so deliberately and with a carefully crafted strategy to future proof systems to absorb technology changes and advancements and avoid pitfalls that can put project success at risk. During this session, we will discuss the key considerations that airports, airlines, and their stakeholders should examine prior to integrating new technologies into their operation.
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Is US Preclearance becoming easier for global airports?
Clint Lamm, Director Field Operations, Preclearance Field Office, US Customs and Border Protection
This presentation will provide an insight into the US Custom and Border Protection world development strategy and especially how new technologies and partnerships will improve productivity at preclearance facilities.
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Disruptive innovation: How Hopper aims to reshape the travel market
The travel market is increasingly sophisticated and offers ever greater choice for consumers, and new ways for airlines to reach their market. Find out how Hopper's prediction algorithm aims to change the way travellers book flights.
* Please note like all events, the programme is subject to change.
