Conference Programme

Tuesday, 21 March 2023

• 09:10 - 09:20

  Welcome Address

  Steven Small, Director Events, Routes

  Welcome introduction from Routes. Hear what you can expect over the course of the event.

• 09:20 - 09:30

  Opening Remarks

  • Alderman Matt O'Shea, Chairman, Chicago City Council Committee on Aviation
  • Jamie L. Rhee, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA)

  Hear more about why Routes Americas 2023 is taking place in Chicago

• 09:35 - 09:55

  Fireside Chat

  Aviation Outlook

  Peter Cerdá, Regional VP Americas, IATA

  Moderator: Karen Walker, Group Air Transport Editor-in-Chief, Aviation Week Network

• 10:00 - 10:45

  Keynote Interview

  Abhi Shah, President, Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras

  Moderator: Michael J. Bell, Senior Client Partner in the Civil Aviation Practice, Korn Ferry

  Hear directly from Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras' President about what it takes for a low-cost carrier to survive in Brazil’s aviation market.

• 10:50 - 11:35

  Powerhouse Panel

  Alliances, partnerships and mergers

  • Colin Scott, General Manager Network Strategy, Delta Air Lines
  • John Pepper, Vice President, Corporate Development, Allegiant Airlines
  • Matthew Glover, Senior Director Network Planning, Spirit Airlines

  Moderator: Karen Walker, Group Air Transport Editor-in-Chief, Aviation Week Network

  The airline landscape across the Americas is continuing to evolve as the market recovers, with new partnerships and alliances coming to the fore. Such ventures are providing an important safety net for carriers, enabling them to more profitable markets and allowing their partners to support wider connectivity.

  In recent months, United Airlines has teamed up with Emirates; American has expanded its alliance with Qatar Airways; and Delta Air Lines has received final approval for its joint venture with LATAM Airlines Group. While, if fully approved, the Allegiant-Viva Aerobus joint venture agreement would see up to 150 routes by 2030, being the first partnership of its type between two ultra-low-cost carriers.

  Elsewhere, JetBlue Airways is seeking to push through the acquisition of Spirit Airlines; Colombian flag-carrier Avianca has high hopes of forming Abra Group with Brazil’s GOL; and WestJet is in the process of buying Canadian counterpart Sunwing.

  Has the role of airline alliances been heightened since the pandemic? How are the changing airline partnerships across the Americas influencing network development? Where will we see further consolidation in the Americas region?

• 11:40 - 12:25

  Panel Discussion

  Latin America on the new geopolitical stage: How to do business in a world where disruption is the new norm

  • Norbert Onkelbach, Chief Commercial Officer, Lima Airport
  • Victor Mejia, Chief Commercial Officer, JetSmart Airlines
  • Cuitlahuac Martinez Gutierrez, Senior Vice President, Institutional Relations, Government, Airports and Industry Affairs, Aeromexico
  • Wei Jin, Director, Strategy & Network Planning, Volaris

  Moderator: Peter Cerdá, Regional VP Americas, IATA

  The last 12 months have seen several major changes in Latin America as 2022 brought elections, scandals and one major sporting triumph. On the political front, the seven most populous countries now have left-of-center governments.

  For the region’s aviation industry, the lifting of travel restrictions mid-year saw many markets recover strongly, with some exceeding pre-crisis levels. However, IATA expects Latin American carriers to have made a combined loss of about $2 billion in 2022—and remain loss making in 2023 to the tune of $795 million.

  How is the changing political landscape across Latin America affecting the aviation sector? Can the industry cope and plan when there is a permanent state of disruption?

• 13:30 - 14:15

  Panel Discussion

  Successful marketing & creative strategies for your airport

  • Daniel Belmont, Director of Market Development, SkyWest Airlines
  • Mark Heefner, Commissioner of Aviation, Greater Binghamton Airport
  • Christina Cole, Senior Digital Aviation Strategist, Advance Aviation
  • Kayleigh Tarbet, Senior Graphic Design and Marketing Specialist, Advance Aviation

  Moderator: Wesley Charnock, Content Marketing Director, Aviation Week Network

  This panel discussion will share key marketing tactics, strategies, and creative approach to help impact commitment to fly local, decrease leakage, and increase enplanements. Learn about travel trends that help inform creative messaging, and the data driven research that drives a proven digital strategy.

  Hear from an airport director’s perspective about how these strategies have worked for them.

• 14:20 - 15:05

  Panel Discussion

  How is sustainability influencing route development?

  • Juan Camilo Hoyos, Chief Legal and Institutional Affairs, OPAIN
  • Rama Myers, Head of Business Development, ZeroAvia
  • Thomas Sanderson, Director Sustainability & Emerging Technology, Product Marketing, Boeing

  Moderator: Aaron Karp, Contributing Editor, Aviation Week Network

  Travel and transport experts in the Americas region will discuss how the sustainability factors affect route development decisions and how increasingly environmentally aware travelers choose their destinations based on the way this affects their surroundings.

  What are the new data sets showing us? Has travel behavior changed? What strategies are destinations implementing to be more sustainable? Is this a way to attract airlines to their cities? Has Covid reshaped consumer demand? How will travel dynamics in the region evolve?

• 15:20 - 15:40

  Behind the Scenes - The Essential Role Aviation Plays in Humanitarian & Disaster Response

  Sandra Walter, Director of Development, Airlink

  Hurricanes, Wildfires, Tornadoes, Earthquakes, Floods - do these affect your business?  Aviation plays a critical role in humanitarian and disaster response.  The increasing frequency of complex humanitarian crises and natural disasters is impacting customers, employees, routes, and destinations across North America and around the world.  Learn from the aviation industry's humanitarian and disaster response nonprofit organization, Airlink, about how airlines, airports, and allied sectors are making a difference - and contributing to their ESG and CSR goals too.  Hear about how Airlink streamlines the relief organizations secure airlift, and ensure the responsible use of aviation assets to respond.   Leave this engaging session feeling inspired about aviation as a force for good.

Wednesday, 22 March 2023

• 09:20 - 10:05

  Panel Discussion

  The dynamic transatlantic market

  • Jason Reisinger, Managing Director, Global Network Planning, American Airlines
  • Laura L Jackson, Vice President, Air Service Development, Denver International Airport
  • Rikke Munk Christensen, Vice President Networks, Alliances and Commercial Planning, Virgin Atlantic
  • Michèle Barre, Chief Revenue Officer, Air Transat

  Moderator: Robert J. Kokonis, President & Managing Director, AirTrav Inc

  Transatlantic travel has returned in a big way with North America-Europe capacity during the summer 2023 season forecast to recover to 2019 levels.  

   All three US majors reported an increase in transatlantic revenue compared with 2019, and many European airlines also have benefited from the strong demand. The strength of the US and Canada has also provided a welcome boost for some European carriers affected by the slower return of some Asia markets and the closure of Russian airspace.

   In addition, new players have also entered the transatlantic space, with JetBlue beginning service to London, Norse Atlantic Airways filling a gap left by Norwegian, and Icelandic startup Play introducing further one-stop options via Reykjavik.

   The advent of longer-range narrowbodies is also allowing operators to get ever more creative with their network strategies, exemplified by SAS Scandinavian Airlines’ decision to open two routes to Newark from secondary cities in Denmark and Sweden.

  What is driving the continued growth of the market? How are longer-range narrowbodies changing transatlantic economics? What opportunities are there for secondary cities on both sides of the pond? How important are airport and destination incentives in the short- and medium-term?

• 10:10 - 10:55

  Panel Discussion

  How can mobile location data help you understand true route demand?

  • Dallas Degn, Manager - Network Planning, Allegiant Airlines
  • Bobby Spann, Vice President - Air Service Development, CVG Airport
  • Jeremiah Gerald, Senior Director, ASM Global Route Development North America

  Moderator: Kevin Jackson, Director - Solutions Engineering, Placer.ai

  As air travel rebounds after the COVID pandemic, behavioral shifts in where people work and live make understanding the true demand for travel more challenging than ever before. Mobile location data has become an increasingly important piece of the solution to empower air service professionals to identify trends and confidently operate in this changing environment. 

  This session will break down different ways mobile location data is being leveraged by airlines, airports and air-service consultants to better understand route demand and make data driven decisions.

• 11:40 - 12:05

  Fireside Chat

  All you need to know from Flair Airlines

  Eric Tanner, Vice President Revenue Management and Network Planning, Flair Airlines

  Moderator: David Casey, Editor-in-Chief, Routes

  At these interview series you will hear exclusive updates direct from key airline decision makers.

• 12:05 - 12:25

  Fireside Chat

  All you need to know from Porter Airlines

  Andrew Pierce, Vice President, Network Planning and Reporting, Porter Airlines

  Moderator: Aaron Karp, Contributing Editor, Aviation Week Network

  At these interview series you will hear exclusive updates direct from key airline decision makers.

• 13:45 - 14:30

  Panel Discussion

  Canadian Aviation Evolution

  • Andrew Pierce, Vice President, Network Planning and Reporting, Porter Airlines
  • Chris de Man, Director, Air Service, Halifax Stanfield International Airport
  • Vijay Bathija, Chief Commercial Officer, Lynx Air
  • Alexandre Lefèvre, VP Network Planning & Scheduling, Air Canada

  Moderator: Lee Lipton, Senior Vice President, Aviation Strategy, ASM Global Route Development

  The Canadian airline industry has undergone major changes in the past several years – even predating the upheavals of the pandemic. A new generation of low-cost carriers has entered the market alongside Porter’s emergence as a new network airline on a national scale. Both Air Canada and WestJet have made consolidation moves amid changes to their network, product, fleet, and alliance strategies.

  Canada imposed some of the most stringent and longest-lasting border restrictions and protocols in response to COVID-19. Its largest airports swung from dealing with significant capacity constraints to the challenges of empty terminals. Many regional airports are facing challenges recovering capacity and passengers in the wake of airline network changes and supply issues. Destination Canada projects that domestic tourism will be back at 2019 levels in 2023 while international visits to Canada are forecasted fully recover in 2025.

  What does the future hold for Canada’s airlines and airports? Will the new entrants and new strategies succeed? What are the market dynamics that will shape Canadian travel and air transportation over the next few years?

Thursday, 23 March 2023

• 11:25 - 11:45

  Fireside Chat

  All you need to know from Avelo

  • Idir Aitsahalia, Network Planning Manager, Avelo Airlines
  • Trevor Yealy, Head of Network Planning, Avelo Airlines

  Moderator: David Casey, Editor-in-Chief, Routes

  At these interview series you will hear exclusive updates direct from key airline decision makers.

• 11:50 - 12:10

  Fireside Chat

  All you need to know from United Airlines

  Mark Weithofer, Managing Director, Domestic Network Planning, United Airlines

  Moderator: Aaron Karp, Contributing Editor, Aviation Week Network

  At these interview series you will hear exclusive updates direct from key airline decision makers.

• 12:15 - 12:35

  Fireside Chat

  All you need to know from Aeromexico

  Abelardo Muñoz Martín, Airport Affairs Director, Aeroméxico

  Moderator: David Casey, Editor-in-Chief, Routes

  At these interview series you will hear exclusive updates direct from key airline decision makers.