Airlines CEOs and industry leaders unite at World Routes Strategy Summit

The World Routes Strategy Summit is open to all attending delegates and will open the 21^st World Route Development Forum which will take place in Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal in just six weeks time. The floor will be open to debate from attendees as industry leaders participate in a number of discussions that will set the commercial and political agenda for the aviation industry in the coming 12-18 months.

This year’s Strategy Summit will feature an on stage interview with Nico Bezuidenhout, CEO of Mango and former acting CEO of South African Airways.

Michael Mabuyakhulu MPL, KwaZulu-Natal Member of the Executive Council, Economic Development, Tourism & Environmental Affairs will deliver the Keynote Address to the audience on the opening day of the Summit on Sunday 20 September. This will be followed by a second Keynote Speech delivered by Angela Gittens, Director General, ACI World.

Angela Gittens will then take part in the first panel session of the day titled State of the Industry and will be joined on stage by leading industry experts such as David Scowsill, President & CEO, World Travel & Tourism Council; Athar Husain Khan, CEO, Association of European Airlines; Bob Lange, Senior Vice President and Head of Market & Product Strategy, Airbus and Hemant Mistry, Director, Airports and Fuel, IATA. The session will be moderated by John Strickland, Director, JLS Consulting.

Panel session two will address airline challenges and growth concerns and Panel session 3 is titled The Changing Business of Airports and will look at the relationship between airlines and airports and the affect this has on air service development.

David Scowsill, President & CEO, World Travel & Tourism Council will open the second day of the Strategy Summit with a Keynote Address titled Africa’s Future Travel Needs. Ali Tounsi, Secretary General, ACI Africa will also deliver a presentation later in the day surrounding safety in Africa.

Africa on the rise: How does Africa manage its growth safely and profitably? is the title of panel session six and joining the debate will be Edmund Makona, Chief Executive Officer, Air Zimbabwe; Inati Ntshanga, CEO, South African Express; Hussain Dabbas, Africa & Middle East Regional Vice President, IATA; Bongani Maseko, CEO, Airports Company South Africa; Dr. Koussai Mrabet, Director, Commercial/Corporate & Industry Affairs, African Airlines Association and Chris Zweigenthal, Chief Executive, Airlines Association of Southern Africa. Raphael Kuuchi, Vice President Africa, IATA will moderate the panel session.

Day two of the Strategy Summit will end on a Keynote Presentation titled Uberisation of Airport Marketing delivered by Shubhodeep Pal, Vice President, Products and Operations, Simpliflying, followed by Panel Session eight discussing new trends in travel technology.

Other senior airline personnel who will participate in the Summit include Vijay Poonoosamy, Vice President International & Public Affairs, Office of the President & CEO, Etihad Airways; Giorgio Callegari, Deputy CEO, Aeroflot; Olivier Jankovec, Director General, ACI Europe; Evan Berg, Manager of International Planning, Southwest Airlines; Inati Ntshanga, CEO and Executive Director, South Africa Express Airways and Fernando Estrada, Chief Strategy Officer, Vueling.

Visit our website to view the full Strategy Summit programme or for more information about World Routes 2015.