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ITB Convention - Market Trends & Innovations

ITB Aviation Day- The Future of Air Transport

 

Berlin: According to statistics recently released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), international passenger traffic grew by 7.6% in 2005. Although this was well below the 15.3% growth recorded in 2004, the result confirms that the industry is returning to a more normal growth pattern after the shocks of the last few years.

Nevertheless, there are lots of uncertainties facing the industry as the still-unknown impact of higher fuel costs continues to filter through to consumer spending. Since the airline industry is in the frontline of economic indicators, any change will of course be quickly felt.

"This makes the subject of Aviation Day, being organised in the context of the ITB Convention, so pertinent," says Professor Dr Roland Conrady, Academic Director of the ITB Convention.

ITB Aviation Day - The Future of Air Transport is a full-day event, taking place on Wednesday, 8 March from 10.30-17.30 in hall 7.1a, in the New York 1 Auditorium. The different sessions will cover a wide range of themes, featuring high-level speakers, and focused primarily on current developments in terms of airports, airlines and aircraft.

Is the low-cost boom really over? Not as far as Asia is concerned

More about ITB Berlin
March 8-12, 2006

One session that is sure to be a hot favourite is the future of low-cost airlines (LCCs), which will include a close look at what is happening in the fast-growing Asia Pacific region. A recently published report by the US consulting group, Arthur D Little, says that the boom in low-cost airline travel is over. Yet there are many industry analysts who would disagree &endash; especially those in Asia Pacific.

"Despite the uncertainties surrounding the impact of higher oil prices, we're seeing unprecedented orders for new aircraft by Asian operators &endash; not least the LCCs," says John Koldowski, Head of the Strategic Intelligence Centre of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), who will be moderating this session at ITB Aviation Day. "And this is in response to opportunities for expansion within and beyond the region.

"Budget airlines have really taken off in this part of the world. Singapore's Changi Airport, for example, reported an increase from 70 weekly flights to six cities in March 2005 to 179 flights to 17 cities six months later."

One of the leaders in the LCC sector in Asia, AirAsia, is planning a number of new routes in 2006 &endash; from its base in Kuala Lumpur to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos. And these routes are in addition to new routes already inaugurated this year to Balikpapan and Solo in Indonesia, and Siem Reap in Cambodia.

"There is huge untapped potential in Southeast Asia," says Tony Fernandes, founder and CEO of AirAsia and its sister airline Thai AirAsia. "When we launched our low-cost operations three years ago, only 6% of Malays had ever travelled by plane. And the respective percentages were even lower among Thais and Indonesians.

"By linking destinations which have never been served before, and by offering attractive prices, we have really opened up a new era in Asian aviation," Mr Fernandes says.

Among the other very interesting themes being covered by ITB Aviation Day is that of aircraft models of the future. A keynote presentation by Dr Adam Pilarski, one of the world's leading aviation economists, will discuss the type of aircraft that will be needed in the future, the competition between Airbus's A380 and Boeing's 787, and how the market for regional jets is likely to develop.

Gold fever in the Gulf: global hub in the desert sand? is another of the highly topical issues being presented. What are the strategies behind the huge investments currently being made in new aircraft and airports in the region? And what will the fall-out be for other regions as a result of the probable shift in traffic flows?

The full-day conference is packed with interesting subjects critical to the future of global air transport. The remaining sessions will look at airports in the EU &endash; How many does Europe need? And who is footing the bill? &endash; the mega-challenge in air traffic: fuel efficiency; and consolidation in Europe's skies.

ITB Aviation Day, which is being organised in co-operation with Flugrevue, OAG and Booz Allen Hamilton, will be chaired by Dr Keith Mason, Director of the Department of Air Transport at the UK's Cranfield University.

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