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Day One: Tuesday 4 November 2008
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08.30 | Check in opens
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09.00 | Chairman’s opening remarks
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09.10 | Welcome speech
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| THE GLOBAL LOW COST AIRLINE REVOLUTION – COMING TO A
SKY NEAR YOU |
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09.20 | Opening Session
CEO Panel Discussion: The constant evolution of low cost airline business model
- Low cost airlines in the MENA region : from myth to reality
- Safety, reliability and quality: the three main airline issues
- Competing on more than price - how can low cost airlines change the public perception of their low cost service?
- Understanding the travel dynamics of residents and the majority migrant workforce
- Analysing the ongoing competition with legacy carriers
- What will the future of low cost airlines look like?
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10.10 | Keynote: Operating in the Middle Eastern skies
- Determining profitable routes
- Dealing with airport congestions to maintain reliability
- Entry strategies and techniques
- What are the market’s conditions for low cost airlines in the region?
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10.40 | Morning Networking Break
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| SLOWING GLOBAL ECONOMIES AND RISING OPERATING COSTS -
IS MENA AFFECTED? |
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11.10 | Panel Discussion: Establishing low cost airlines in a high cost environment
- Record petrol prices, rising labour costs – is the low cost model sustainable?
- What are the economic patterns of low cost airlines in the region?
- What are the key learnings from international experiences?
- What will be the key drivers of growth for low cost airlines in MENA?
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12.00 | Differentiation – how to be a different low cost airline
- Low cost airline branding and marketing strategies
- How to retain customers and generate new ones
- Understanding customer preferences, affiliations and purchase behaviours
- Do brand loyalty and traditional customer service matter in a low cost environment?
- What can low cost airlines learn from legacy carriers’ branding models?
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12.30 | Networking Lunch sponsored by ADAT
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| ENHANCING SHAREHOLDER VALUE – OPTIMISING THE BUSINESS
MODEL |
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14.00 | Panel Discussion: Finance and return on investment
- The low cost finance and investment climate in Middle East and North Africa
- Investments, private equity and public offerings
- Meeting investors’ expectations
- Acquisition and leasing to meet growth target
- Islamic financing - can low cost airlines be financed with Islamic funds?
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14.40 | Speed Networking
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15.30 | Afternoon Networking Break
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16.00 | Panel Discussion: Maximising ancillary revenue
- The journey from vanilla products to value-added services
- Maximising ancillary revenue from cars, hotels and insurance
- Opportunities in premium classes, frequent flyer programs and co-branded credit cards
- Are packaged products the key to maximising ancillary revenue?
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16.40 | Panel Discussion: Fuel – Challenges of operating in the Gulf?
- Battling surging fuel costs – to which extent are the regional low cost airlines affected?
- Do low cost airlines benefit from special agreements with the local petroleum companies?
- Fuel cost - fair competition with legacy carriers?
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17.30 | Chairman’s closing remarks and end of Day 1
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Day Two: Wednesday 5 November 2008
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08.30 | Morning Coffee
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08.50 | Chairman’s opening remarks
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| LOW COST AIRLINES’ PENETRATION IN MENA |
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09.00 | Keynote: Capitalising on the region’s opportunities and
growth potential
- Pioneering the region’s low cost airlines industry
- Expanding through strategic partnerships and tactical joint ventures
- New hubs to explore new markets and stay ahead of the competition
- Competing with government-backed airlines in the Middle East
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09.30 | Panel Discussion: The legacy carriers’ perspective – LCAs
– threats or opportunities?
- Has the low cost airline market penetration affected the legacy airlines’ traffic?
- Competition with low cost airlines – how should you compete? On which routes?
- The business strategy for today’s crowded skies
- Winning more international and long-haul traffic through the subsidiaries and allies
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| | Moderator: Mr. Michael Stumpf, Managing Director, ECAD - European Center for Aviation Development
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10.20 | Morning Networking Break
MENA Paper Plane Championship
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10.50 | Keynote: KSA – a land of opportunities and challenges
- Competing with other modes of transportation – bus, train and cars
- Hajj pilgrimages: the impact of Islamic tourism on the airlines’ traffic
- Route adjustment and increased traffic to accommodate Hajj demand fluctuation
- The international experience: competition with legacy carriers and other low cost airlines
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| INBOUND AND OUTBOUND – ROUTE DEVELOPMENT AND
DESTINATION NETWORK |
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11.20 | Panel Discussion: Spreading wings in new markets through
partnerships, acquisitions and joint-ventures
- Optimising future achievements with innovative partnerships
- Enabling growth through existing strong brands
- Developing a long-haul international network
- Joint-ventures – will the baby cannibalise the parent?
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12.00 | Panel Discussion: Flying to and from MENA – successful
regional and international route development strategies
- Strengthening networks and winning market share through increased frequencies and lucrative new routes
- Identifying routes where supply is short of demand
- Connecting the dots in a route network
- Long-haul: is it profitable? And do passengers want to fly long-haul with low cost airlines?
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| ENGINE TECHNOLOGY – WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC NEEDS OF LOW COST AIRLINES? |
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12.40 | An engine manufacturer’s perspective on the needs of the regional low cost airlines
- Looking at the key market segments in the MENA region
- Implementing a regional strategy targeting the low cost aviation segment
- Tailored products to meet the demand of low cost airlines
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13.00 | Networking Lunch sponsored by Avalon Aviation Academy
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| TERMINALS AND AIRPORTS FOR LOW COST AIRLINES |
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14.00 | Panel Discussion: What can airports do to attract low cost
airlines?
- Revealing under-served destinations and making them affordable and accessible
- Establishing mutually profitable relationships with airports
- The impact of low cost airlines on regional airports
- Dedicating low-cost terminals to offer better value
- Airport strategies to turn into global low cost aviation hub
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| | Mr. Bupesh Joshi , General Manager of Airport Infrastructure & Services , Kingfisher Airlines
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| THE DISTRIBUTION DEBATE – WHAT APPLIES TO THE MIDDLE EAST? |
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14.50 | Panel Discussion: Customer purchase behaviour and
distribution costs
- How to drive down the travel distribution cost
- Innovative and alternative distribution channels
- Can low cost airlines enable GDS channels without incurring cost?
- Developing new e-distribution methods
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15.20 | Afternoon Networking Break
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15.50 | Panel Discussion: Talent – Coping with the shortage of
human resources in the region
- Overview of global airlines personnel training needs
- Developing pilot training programmes to support the industry’s growth
- Training aviation personnel for the airlines and the airport
- What are the critical success factors in flight training?
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| HOW LONG WILL SUCCESS CONTINUE? |
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16.30 | Panel Discussion: What does the future hold for the low cost industry and where is the next big opportunity?
- What are the future prospects in Middle East and North Africa?
- Asia and India – the natural growth of low cost airlines in the Middle East?
- What are the major killer industry issues and how to overcome them?
- What are the upcoming plans and challenges to succeed in a highly competitive industry?
- Low cost long-haul and all-business class service
- Will the low cost industry suffer from the development of ground transportation in Middle East and North Africa?
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17.10 | Chairman’s closing remarks and close of conference
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Pre-Conference Workshop: Monday 3 November 2008
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| Effective new route development: trends, research, strategy and incentives for airports |
The purpose of the workshop is to provide airport managers with practical steps for evaluating and securing new air services, including:
- Identifying critical trends which will impact new route development
- Undertaking a market research program to quantify market sizes, traffic leakage and demand potential
- Creating an air service development strategy and implementing an air service development program
- Undertaking route profitability forecasting
- Evaluating, negotiating and structuring airline incentives
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09.15 | Check in opens
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| Introduction and background |
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10.00 | Critical Trends Impacting Route Development
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| Research, strategy and business cases – Improving the effectiveness of a route development programme |
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10.30 | Components of a valuable market research program
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11.00 | Refreshments and networking break
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11.30 | Creating a route development strategy
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12.30 | Networking lunch
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13.30 | Regulatory considerations
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| Developing an airline incentive policy |
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14.30 | Airline incentives: best practices and future trends
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| Closing session |
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15.00 | Summary discussions and workshop wrap-up
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