Passenger demand is strong, cargo is weak and
the industry’s profitability remains razor
thin,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General
and CEO. In March, IATA announced its industry
outlook for a $3.0 billion profit on $633
billion in revenues for a net margin of 0.5%. On
Monday, the association will revise the outlook
taking into consideration the volatility over
recent months.
Two panel discussions will highlight the opening
day’s activities, the CEO Forum will feature:
Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways; Piyasvasti
Amranand, Thai Airways; Bronwyn Curtis, HSBC;
Alex Dichter, McKinsey & Company; Alan Joyce,
Qantas Airways and John Slosar, Cathay Pacific
Airways.
Doing Business in China will feature: Tim
Clissold, Peony Capital; Liu Shaoyong, China
Eastern Airlines; Christian Murck; American
Chamber of Commerce in the People’s Republic of
China and Helen Wong, HSBC Bank (China).
Tuesday 12 June will offer four discussions:
Social Media and Air Transport, Value of
Aviation, Commercialization of Biofuels and the
Future of Airline Distribution.
“Beijing is a fitting location for this year’s
AGM,” said Tyler. “It is IATA’s home in North
Asia—the location of our largest regional office
and largest billing and settlement office, with
132 million tickets processed in 2011. But even
more importantly, China is a great aviation
success story. The government’s strategy of
using aviation to drive economic growth has seen
China emerge as an aviation powerhouse.”
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