The Routes Africa Strategy Forum will provide an impactful opening to the event as high level industry leaders continue to sign up to take part in the programme of presentations, workshops and panel discussion sessions. The aviation industry across Africa has some important challenges ahead and the Forum provides the ideal platform to discuss issues affecting commercial aviation and route development across the region and will help to set the scene for the one-to-one meetings during the remainder of the event.
Following the opening of the forum by Minister Joel Morgan, Minister of Home Affairs & Transport there will be keynote addresses on Sunday 8thJuly from Minister Marthinus Van Schalkuyk, Minister for Tourism, Republic of South Africa and Mr Cramer Ball, Chief Executive Officer, Air Seychelles whilst Monday 9thwill see keynote speeches from Mr Gebremaraim Tewolde, Chief Executive Officer, Ethiopian Airlines and Mr Ali Tounsi, Secretary General, ACI Africa.
The first panel discussion session Unlocking the Market – Liberalization vs. Competition will be moderated by Mr Vijay Poonoosamy, Vice President International & Public Affairs, Etihad Airways & Chair – IATA Industry Affairs Committee. The discussion will focus on how African governments unlock their market potential whilst balancing against the development of a national carrier? Is an open skies policy the best way forward? Can countries work together? Panellists who have recently confirmed they will take part in this session include Mrs Marlene Manave, CEO of LAM – Linhas Aereas Mozambique, Mr Fernando Estrada, Director of Strategy and Alliances for Vueling and Mr Vivendra Lochan, COO of the Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA).
The second session will discuss how many African destinations are exploring new avenues to potential markets in untapped regions as they respond to the recession in their traditional, core markets across Europe. The session entitled Source Market Diversification – The opportunities and challenges will be moderated by Hon. Alain St Ange, Seychelles Minister for Tourism and will include panellists such as Mr Subhash Goyal, Chairman and CEO of STIC Travel and Mr Fatih Cigal, Network Planning Manager for Turkish Airlines.
Session three; Safety, Security & Standards will be moderated by Mr Raphael Kuuchi, Director, Commercial/Corporate & Industry Affairs, AFRAA and will give a valuable insight into the some of the significant improvements that have been made in these areas across the region and developments planned for the future.
The fourth panel discussion session entitled The Road to Recovery – Rebuilding & Looking to the Future will explore what impact has Arab Spring had on the North Africa market; whether the inbound tourism market has returned; what opportunities there are for growth and the importance of political stability within the region.
Other speakers and panellists include:
- Mrs Doreen Owusu-Fianko, Managing Director, Ghana Airports Company Limited.
- Mr Bert van der Stege, Commercial Director, RwandAir
- Mr Joachim von Winning, Chief Commercial Officer, Cairo Airport Company
- Mr Rany Nasser, Senior Manager, Airline Development for Abu Dhabi Airports Company
- Mr Mohamed Khalil, Airline Marketing Manager, Africa and Middle East Bombardier Commercial Aircraft
A workshop entitled The Global Outlook for Africa – The Numbers Behind The Opportunity will also take place during the event which will be led by Mr Nick Oldrini, Research & Analysis Manager for ASM and will explore which are the largest markets out of Africa; which markets are growing the fastest; what are the largest city – pairs not served; and how large is the Chinese market and will it drive growth of traffic into Africa?
The Forum will close with an Interline Workshop; this will give carriers the opportunity to discuss market opportunities with other airlines. With the cost of operating new air services increasing, more carriers are seeking lower cost means of entering markets through interline agreements, code shares and joint ventures. The session will begin with a presentation giving and overview of how airlines can work together. Following the presentation, carriers will be able to set up meetings with other airlines to discuss potential partnership arrangements.
The Strategy Forum will take place on the afternoon of Sunday 8th July and will continue on to lunchtime on Monday 9th July. The specially developed content and the interactive format ensures that the Forum is a dynamic, key element of the event which is open to all Routes Africa. For more information and to register for Routes Africa 2012 click here
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