Alongside panel discussions designed to address the latest developments across the two very different regions of the world, individual perspectives were studied from the viewpoint of industry sectors. Here's some of the insights and observations with full coverage of the panel sessions from the event at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre (DICEC) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Spotlight on the Middle East - Middle East carriers and outlook for 2019/2020
Moderator: CAPA - Centre for Aviation, Executive Chairman, Peter Harbison
Panel: AACO, Secretary General, Abdul Wahab Teffaha; Gulf Air, CCO, Vincent Coste; Jazeera Airways, CEO, Rohit Ramachandran; and Turkish Airlines, CMO, Ahmet Olmustur
Spotlight On Africa - Africa remains a market of huge potential but even larger challenges
Moderator: CAPA - Centre for Aviation, Content Editor, The Blue Swan Daily, Rich Maslen
Panel: Astral Aviation, CEO, Sanjeev Gadhia; Embraer, General Manager - Special Projects AME, Hussein Dabbas; fastJet, Group CEO, Nico Bezuidenhout; IATA, Regional Director, Account Management, AME, Michael Burke and Crabtree Capital Limited, Co-Founder & CEO, Mark Tierney
LCCs in Africa & the Middle East: lessons to be shared and learnt
Moderator: CAPA - Centre for Aviation, Chief Analyst, Brendan Sobie
Panel: Cleartrip, EVP and Managing Director, Middle East, Sameer Bagul; fastjet, CEO & Executive Director, Nico Bezuidenhout; flyadeal, CEO, Con Korfiatis; and SalamAir, CEO, Mohamed Ahmed
What's driving travel and tourism demand in a digital era? The role of air services partnerships
Moderator: IBM, Global Managing Director, Dee Waddell
Panel: IBM, Chief Innovation Officer Emeritus, Bernard Meyerson; ICF, Vice President, Managing Director Aviation, Jared Harckham; South African Airways, Group CEO, Vuyani Jarana; and WTTC, Regional Director APAC & MEA, Nigel David
Innovation driving the entire aviation ecosystem
Moderator: Skyscanner, Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships, Hugh Aitken
Panel: Caravelo, CCO, Jonathan Newman; Etihad Airways, Vice President Revenue Management, Dieter Westermann; and Sabre, Vice President, Travel Solutions, MEA, Dino Gelmetti
Infrastructure: Airport/Airspace
Moderator: Aviation Minds, Managing Partner, Dr. Nadine Itani
Panel: Airports PPP, Managing Director, Waleed Youssef; Jazeera Airways, CEO, Rohit Ramachandran; London Stansted Airport, CEO, Ken O'Toole; and Los Angeles World Airports, COO, Samson Mengistu
Distribution and selling challenges: NDC to the rescue?
Moderator: Travelport, Global Head of New Distribution, Ian Heywood
Panel: dnata, Vice President - Air & Strategic Alliances, Middle East & India, Alan William; Etihad Airways, Vice President Revenue Management, Dieter Westermann; and Gulf Air, Global Head of Sales & Steering, Vikas Manra
Short-to-long-haul connectivity, particularly as LCC long haul airlines expand
Moderator: CAPA - Centre for Aviation, Chief Analyst, Brendan Sobie
Panel: flyadeal, CEO, Con Korfiatis; ICF, VP, Managing Director Aviation, Jared Harckham; and London Stansted Airport, CCO, Aboudy Nasser