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The organisers of Routes Americas 2019, the air service development forum for the Americas, have confirmed the speaker and panellist line-up ahead of the event which will take place Feb. 12 to 14 in Quebec City, Canada.
With more than 30 confirmed speakers, the 2019 edition of the conference program is the biggest yet, with over 10 senior airline leaders sharing their expertise, 22 inspirational sessions over three days, and more than 10 hours of aviation content on the program, discussing everything affecting the network planning and aviation industry, from traffic forecasts to stakeholder engagement.
Industry heavyweights top the bill with keynote interviews from the likes of Vincent Hodder, chief executive officer of LEVEL; Javier Suarez, chief executive officer at Canada Jetlines; and Steven Greenway, president of Swoop. The full list of confirmed speakers can be viewed at Routesonline.
Hodder will take to the stage to tell all on how International Airlines Group’s (IAG) low-cost carrier (LCC) LEVEL aims to grow at an “aggressive” rate once its foundations are in place. Conference delegates will hear directly from Hodder 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. Hodder is an experienced global aviation executive with over 20 years of experience working with airlines across the globe. Hodder will also take part in a panel discussion on low and ultra-low-cost (ULCC) airlines’ profitability in the face of higher wages, higher fuel prices, higher pressure, along with Suarez and Greenway.
Jetlines’ CEO Suarez will be in the hot seat for a keynote interview to discuss the fledgling airline’s plans for the next few years. Expected to start operating in spring 2019, Suarez is working to develop Jetlines as a tech-driven airline that takes inspiration from some of the world’s leading technology companies. With over 15 years of airline experience, Suarez was part of the senior management team that improved VivaAerobus’ profitability from breakeven in 2014 to become the most profitable airline in Mexico in 2017; over his four years, Suarez launched 55 routes with a 98 per cent success rate.
Conference attendees will also hear from Greenway, the president of ULCC Swoop, a subsidiary of the WestJet Group. Armed with a deep understanding of ULCC best practices, Greenway is leading Swoop on a mission to offer consumers more choice and lower fares, getting more Canadians travelling. Swoop successfully started Canadian operations in June 2018 and has quickly expanded to the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean, becoming Canada’s first international ULCC. With more than 20 years of airline experience and an emphasis on LCCs, Greenway’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.
Other senior industry experts who will be providing an insight into their area of air service developments include Jude Bricker, president and CEO of Sun Country Airlines; Ferio Pugliese, senior vice-president regional markets and government relations for Air Canada; Richard Muise, director of Canadian airport operations for American Airlines; Peter Cerdá, regional vice-president of the Americas for IATA; and Luis Felipe de Oliveira, executive director of ALTA, among others. See the full list of 31 speakers at Routesonline.
