Plan Your CONNECT
Event Programme
Route development and industry briefings provide delegates with crucial and first-class insight, industry analysis and updates.
Tuesday 30th May
Introduction: State of the Industry
Rafael Echevarne, Director General, Airports Council International Latin America & Caribbean |
José Ricardo Botelho, Executive Director & CEO, Latin American & The Caribbean Air Transport Association |
Leaders’ Panel
What are the challenges and opportunities facing the aviation industry in the Americas? We're delighted to have the benefit of insights from key airline and airport CEOs across the region, to set the scene for our discussions over the next couple of days. What can we expect in terms of consolidation, emergence of new carriers, increasing focus on sustainability?
Moderator | |
Speaker to be announced | |
Panel | |
Pierre-Hugues Schmit, Chief Commercial & Operational Officer, VINCI Airports | |
Pedro Heilbron, Chief Executive Officer, Copa Airlines | |
Speaker to be announced |
Peter Cerda, IATA Keynote
Peter Cerda, Regional Vice President The Americas, IATA |
What are the opportunities for LCCs in Latin America?
The first phase of global LCC growth in the 2000s and 2010s was arguably more visible in Europe, Asia, and North America than in Latin America. The region is catching up fast, though, with the emergence of a wave of new entrants to complement long-standing players such as GOL. Meanwhile, North American LCCs are increasingly spreading their wings further south. We'll explore the particular challenges facing disruptors in a relatively regulated market, as well as the scale of the opportunities.
Moderator | |
Patrick Edmond, Managing Director, Altair Advisory | |
Panel | |
Victor Pacheco, CEO and Founder, Arajet | |
Camilo Martelo, Director of International Stations, Spirit Airlines |
Wednesday 31st May
Regional Connectivity: the emerging power of the regional airlines
There is a lot of talk about LCCs but what about the essential role of regional airlines to keep people connected, to link smaller airports into global networks, and to develop secondary routes? How can regional airlines increase their network? Can a liberalized market apply to the Caribbean?
Moderator | |
Mercy Correia, Head of Industry Relations, ALTA | |
Panel | |
Rafael Echevarne, Director General, Airports Council International Latin America & Caribbean | |
Vagner Ricardo, Airline Strategy Director - The Americas, Embraer | |
Oscar David Unas, Head of Planning, SATENA | |
Tracy Cooper, Managing Director, Bahamasair |
Bringing long-haul flights to your airport
Whereas long-haul routes, operated by large wide-bodied aircraft, were once the preserve of major airports, the arrival of new generation of long-haul single-aisle aircraft such as the Airbus A321LR/XLR enables the profitable operation of "thinner" long-haul service. How can airports identify and target these new long-haul route opportunities?
Moderator | |
Nicolas Gurwicz, Vice President, Campbell-Hill Aviation Group | |
Panel | |
Michele Barre, Chief Revenue Officer, Air Transat | |
Speaker to be announced |
Thursday 1st June
How can technology help airlines benefits from new distribution channels?
New approaches to interlining: Helped by the emergence of Low-Cost Carriers and the growth in online travel agencies, more and more customers are arranging their own journeys, finding their own flight connections, and assembling their own packages. How can airports, airlines and destinations benefit from these new distribution opportunities?
Moderator | |
Mike Reynolds, Head of Partnerships, Skyscanner | |
Panel | |
Speaker to be announced |
Jump to:
“Attending CONNECT is always a very good opportunity to meet wonderful people and work on great projects. Always pleased to be a very small piece of the big puzzle of aviation.”
“Great event in Cagliari – seriously impressed with event logistics – we will certainly return to Cagliari!”
“CONNECT is a well organised event with a friendly yet professional atmosphere. It is an important part of Newcastle International Airport’s calendar of engagement with current and prospective airline partners.”
“One of the best airline industry events, combining efficiency and organization with French style and flair!”
“We performed 60 meetings in three days with the airports we were looking for, it would have took us months to achieve that without CONNECT. We got an excellent return on investment and we ended up having concrete request for commercial proposals. Real value for money!”
“As always CONNECT was fantastic, congratulations to all the team and to Karin for the wonderful organisation, missing to be part of the organisation. Fantastic event, fantastic organisation & fantastic people!”
“CONNECT offers the opportunity to network and catch-up with airports from Europe and beyond, in a very relaxed setting. In 2020, the event helped us launch 5 new routes to Italy and France. In 2022 we will be in Tampere to join new conversations and new projects for our network.”
“It was the best route networking event I've ever attended. Apart from the success of the meetings we had, the accommodation, the food, the entertainment was magnificent.”
“Perfect, relaxed, and still profitable, business wise…you have to come!!”
“What an amazing event! We loved the venue, the city and all the opportunities that came with CONNECT! Thank you!”
“Second time at CONNECT and it just gets better, thank you for a great conference!”
“During the event we had a lot of scheduled and unscheduled meetings, giving us many opportunities to meet with airport delegates. Thank you for the help and support!”
“CONNECT is a very good fit for us with regards to attending airlines and their representatives! It’s an intimate setting, even though it's still a big event and a good value for money. Following this event, we are planning increased capacity on existing routes.”
“What a great event and host city. The easyJet team and I really enjoyed our time and loved the Finnish hospitality. Thank you!”
“This was the first time I came to CONNECT in a few years and was impressed to see how much it has developed whilst retaining its small event feel with a quality meeting structure and networking.”
“What a fantastic CONNECT conference in Cagliari, over 40 meetings in 3 days which is a new record for RDC. A great opportunity to catch up with clients and introduce other companies to our products.”
“There is great attention to detail and the CONNECT team are like an army of ants with their eyes on everything!”
“Professional and well-organized event. Fantastic atmosphere during official part and social part also.”
“I had 2 contracts confirmed after the first day and am now in serious talks with potential customers regarding other contracts. A successful event for me!”
“Perfect hospitality. The number of confirmed meetings exceeded our expectations.”
“A very nice event in Tampere, extremely well-co-ordinated and very productive I have to say. Of course, we are planning to attend next event in Tangier.”
“Thank you, team CONNECT for a wonderful event in Tampere. We are always happy being a close partner of CONNECT and good friends with all of you!”
“Perfect organization, both for meetings and for leisure time. CONNECT does compare better than other events in the aviation industry, with longer meeting slots, less stressed timing, which helps people talking and doing business.”
“The skydive was an amazing experience. Beautiful to see the island from above! The conference was very professional but had a relaxed vibe, which I believe was due to the fact that it was held in Sardinia.”
“CONNECT enabled us to meet with a good number of our airline partners. We were also able to take the temperature of the industry in terms of how other airports and industry leaders see things.”
“Great organization, perfect conditions, delicious food, very friendly and cosy atmosphere and professional communication. Meetings at CONNECT are always very productive! We hope next year will be at least as excellent as it was in 2022!”
“As always, it was a great pleasure seeing you in Tampere after very long time. We enjoyed both Tampere and Finland, so thanks for bringing us to places we probably would not visit by ourselves. Thanks for an amazing event (as usual) and hospitality, we look forward to seeing you next year in Morocco!”
“The venue was great, the meetings were long enough, the location and events were superb, the general ambiance was really pleasurable.”
“Our onsite meetings were trebled with help from the CONNECT team, and we are more than satisfied with these discussions, that are the beginning of long conversations opened up for the future.”
“I managed to have over 20 scheduled meetings with current and potential airline partners”