
Our exciting agenda has a wealth of industry leaders, technology giants, disruptors, parallel industries, government agencies and startups sharing their future visions of course, but this is a new era for air transport and we have worked incredibly hard to deliver a line-up that reflects the bold new ideas and many new faces that are going to be at the heart of our industry recovery. From a guest session led by AirAsia and our latest Think Tank team effort focusing on redefining both the future of food & beverage and baggage, through to a New Airline Summit and an exclusive broadcast of the APEX/IFSA Board of Governors meeting, as well as the unveiling of our Transformation Honours List – our event stands out from other online industry gatherings with these thought-provoking and expertly curated conference sessions. We will deliver an inspirational line-up to give you fresh perspectives on what is possible in a world that has seen 10 years of change in just one year, and how-to best power your recovery efforts and future-proof your next wave of propositions and strategies.
The conference will be split into CEO, Airport, Inflight, Commercial and Digital sessions which will run throughout the day to ensure that everyone can get the most out of the education on offer regardless of their location or time zone. Our auditorium sessions will also be complemented by our On-Demand Speaker Zone, where we will have a wealth of specially recorded presentations ready to go as soon as attendees visit the event, plus as a new addition for 2021 we will host free-to-attend sessions for all attendees and will provide a wealth of quality education sessions on our Expo floor.
Tuesday 25th May 2021 - Day 1
Opening Session
Leadership Perspectives on Relaunching Global Air Transport
FORMAT
Format: In an honest, and fast moving discussion, our renowned moderator will interrogate a panel of global industry figures to ascertain their ideas, and insights, on the methods by which air-transport can achieve the fastest possible recovery whilst innovating, and collaborating, in new ways to reach greater heights in the future.
Moderator


Zeinab Badawi
Presenter
BBC World News
Panellists


Luis Felipe de Oliveira
Director General
ACI World


Dr. Joe Leader
CEO
APEX/IFSA


Thomas Reynaert
Managing Director
Airlines for Europe (A4E)
C-level Fireside Chat – “Relaunching Global Air Transport”
Special Guest


M. İlker Aycı
Chairman of the Board and Executive Committee
Turkish Airlines
Interviewed by


Dr. Joe Leader
CEO
APEX/IFSA
AirAsia Guest Session on Transformation and “Bringing it back better”
AirAsia has used the downtime created by the pandemic to fast track its digital transformation with the mission of becoming “more than just an airline”.
This includes the introduction of numerous new products that provide more choice to customers and new revenue streams including the airasia super app, logistics, e-commerce, fintech, as well as new procedures and innovations such as biometric facial recognition, which will not only make flying more hygienic and contactless, but will also uniquely support commerce ambitions going forward. The airline is also establishing teleport delivery and pilot training businesses leveraging drones, and its own air taxi business.
In our view, AirAsia is the most transformative industry player out there right now. This is why we are giving them their own dedicated guest session in which they will bring together senior executives from across their business, and key partners they are collaborating with, to deep-dive with our audience on how they are successfully reimagining what an airline business can be.
Presenters include:


Javed Malik
Group Chief Operations Officer
AirAsia


Karen Chan
CEO
AirAsia.com


Pete Chareonwongsak
CEO
Teleport


Liong Tien Ling
Chief Safety Officer
AirAsia
CEO Fireside Chat - "Relaunching Global Air Transport"
Special Guest


Tony Douglas
CEO
Etihad Airways
Interviewed by


Shashank Nigam
Founder & CEO
SimpliFlying
Digital Health Passport Symposium - Part 1 Case Studies
Digital Health Passports are likely to play a crucial role in the future, not just to unlock international travel but also to help return people to offices, concerts, sports events, inside dining and universities. However, there are big challenges around standards, interoperability and privacy, plus questions remain as to how they can be deployed effectively by air transport stakeholders to help rebuild public confidence in travel and provide many other benefits along the way. We will bring together the first movers and key players in this space to share the big lessons learned so far, and their final recommendations to the industry ahead of a major summer roll-out.
Confirmed speakers include


Alan Murray Hayden
Head Airport, Passenger and Security Products
International Air Transport Association (IATA)


Dr. Bjoern Becker
Senior Director Product Management Ground & Digital Services
Lufthansa


Simon Talling-Smith
Senior Adviser
The Commons Project Foundation
FURTHER SPEAKERS TO BE CONFIRMED SHORTLY
Airport CEO interview to feature in our OnDemand Speaker Zone
What is the future of end-to-end passenger experiences and which CX and health innovations resulting from COVID-19 are here to stay?
FORMAT
Each panellist delivers a short overview of their organisation’s recent activities and plans for the future, followed by a Q&A discussion.
MODERATOR’S PRESENTATION
Why the new normal of PaxEx is all about well-being and how airlines can succeed


Shashank Nigam
Founder & CEO
SimpliFlying
Panellists


Akira Mitsumasu
VP Global Marketing,
Japan Airlines & Member of the APEX Board of Directors


Christo Christodoulou
Head of Airport Partnerships in EMEA
Uber


Sara Luchian
Director of Passenger Experience
Virgin Hyperloop


Antoine Rostworowski
Senior Vice President, Programmes and Commercial Services
ACI World
Questions to consider:
- What are the appropriate biosecurity steps going forward in the airport and onboard the aircraft, and how can these be executed in a CX friendly manner?
- What are the new collaboration possibilities across the journey from booking to kerb?
- How should airport architecture and facilitation efforts adapt to the new normal?
- In what new ways can technology support every element of the experience pre, during and post flight?
- How should passenger interactions with staff and crew evolve going forward?
- What steps can be taken at every point of the journey to deliver a safe, seamless and touchless experience?
- Can we deliver great hospitality whilst we adhere to the measures necessary to keep travel moving in the post-COVID-19 world?
- What does 5* travel look like post-pandemic?
New Airlines C-Suite Summit - Live
FORMAT
A large number of new airlines are launching around the world to take advantage of the disruption and opportunities created by COVID-19. In an honest and fast-moving discussion, our renowned moderator will quiz a panel of C-level executives behind these new startup airlines to ascertain their ideas, and insights, on why they believe they can be successful and what the future holds for the industry at large.
Moderator


Aaron Heslehurst
News Anchor & Presenter
BBC World News
Panellists


Olivier Arrindell
CEO
Ava Airways


Arnar Magnússon
CEO
PLAY


(Nino) Navdip Singh Judge
Chief Executive and Founder
Pop


Matteo Bonecchi
CEO
EGO Airways
The FTE Transformation Honours List – Airline, Airport & Sustainability categories
The COVID-19 crisis has forced all air transport industry stakeholders to embrace transformation to future-proof their businesses and help to create a stronger, more resilient industry for the long-term. The Transformation Honours List recognises the organisations that have embraced innovation and transformation, and taken on a leadership role in helping to prepare the industry for a brighter future post-pandemic. In this session, you will get to hear the most inspirational stories from the Airline, Airport and Sustainability categories. Meanwhile, the OnDemand Speaker Zone will also host inspiring presentations from the Vendor, Startup, Airline and Airport categories.
Moderator


Ryan Ghee
Head of Strategy & Development
Future Travel Experience
The story of how Turkish Airlines created “Terminal” – a digital platform combining all of the airline’s technology and innovation focused work in one place, bringing together startups and all technophiles to redefine the future of travel together


Serdar Gürbüz
SVP, Digital Innovation & Analytics Solutions
Turkish Airlines
The story of how Los Angeles World Airports’ (LAWA) COVID-19 Recovery Task Force has successfully rolled out a unique Terminal Wellness Pilot Project and a state-of-the-art onsite COVID-19 Test Lab at LAX to help kick-start the air travel recovery


Justin Erbacci
CEO
Los Angeles World Airports
The story behind the AIRTEK programme, created by aviation innovators and a Formula 1 team, to bring new materials and design to the world of aviation seating and help drive down the weight and emissions of tomorrow’s commercial aircraft


Stuart Olden
Senior Commercial Manager
Williams Advanced Engineering


Elliott Koehler
Creative Director
JPA Design
Exclusive: The FTE APEX Business Model Transformation Think Tank – Phase 2: Turning Ideas into Reality
The key recommendations from the FTE APEX Business Model Transformation Think Tank – our most ambitious Think Tank to date – were unveiled during our landmark FTE APEX Virtual Expo last December. The forward-thinking group was led by team captain Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Strategy & Development Officer, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) together they shared a vision for redefining two key areas of the travel experience: the way passengers purchase and consume food & beverage (F&B) and providing passengers with a reliable and seamless end-to-end baggage experience. In this session, we will share the latest results and recommendations from this ongoing project, along with further evolved thinking around these key subject areas.
Part 1
Formalising new approaches to F&B in travel, and building new e-commerce retail opportunities on the back of it
MODERATOR’S SCENE-SETTING PRESENTATION
Next-generation F&B services in India inspired by the 2020 Think Tank recommendations


Satyaki Raghunath
Chief Strategy & Development Officer
Bengaluru International Airport
Following the initial Think Tank recommendations, Bangalore International Airport Limited shares how it has worked with an airline partner to empower passengers to pre-order F&B services via airline/airport apps before the day of travel for collection at departure and arrival airports, with the aim of enhancing passenger experiences and commercial opportunities, while reducing complexity and costs for industry stakeholders.
CASE STUDY
Omnevo, a new subsidiary of AOE Group (already working with the likes of Singapore Airlines & Heathrow Airport) has been created to specialise in vendor-agnostic digital retailing and catering management infrastructure for airports and airlines. How could such an organisation support the Think Tank vision, and what has it learned from its efforts in this space so far?


Kian Gould
Chairman of the Board
Omnevo
Part 2
Redefining the Baggage Experience
CASE STUDY
Ideas for revolution in the baggage arena for airlines and airports from two of the industry’s most knowledgeable baggage experts


Andrew Price
Independent Consultant & Former Head of Global Baggage Operations, IATA


Samuel Ingalls
Principal
Barich, Inc
THINK TANK MEMBERS
Panel discussion with Think Tank team members on what they have heard, and their recommended next steps:


Juha Jarvinen
CCO,
Virgin Atlantic & President Emeritus, APEX


Javed Malik
Group Chief Operations Officer
AirAsia


Christina Cassotis
CEO
Pittsburgh International Airport
How will IFEC evolve now in terms of systems, commercialisation and content post-COVID-19?
OPTION 1
FORMAT
Following a scene-setting presentation, the panellists will discuss transformational activity in the IFEC space, and the right approaches for airlines and their partners to take going forward.
SPEAKERS TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON
Delivering touchless travel and a socially distanced airport experience as passenger numbers rise quickly again
OPTION 2
MODERATOR’S SCENE-SETTING PRESENTATION: How Seattle–Tacoma International Airport has looked across the industry, and beyond it, to shape its pandemic technology response


Dave Wilson
Director, Airport Innovation
Port of Seattle
Panellists


Dave McCormick
Managing Director, Product & Design
Alaska Airlines


Frank Barich
Principal
Barich, Inc


George Merritt
Senior Vice President of Strategic Operations
Denver International Airport


Daniel McCoy
Chief Innovation Officer
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
CEO Fireside Chat – “Relaunching Global Air Transport”
Special Guest


Scott Kirby
CEO
United Airlines
Interviewed by


Shashank Nigam
Founder & CEO
SimpliFlying
Airport CEO interview to feature in our OnDemand Speaker Zone
Wednesday 26th May - Day 2
FTE APEX Women in Aviation Leadership Summit
FORMAT
In an honest and fast-moving discussion, our moderator will quiz a panel of global industry leaders to ascertain their perspectives on the impact that female leaders are having on their organisations and the importance of equality in the workplace across aviation. We will also seek their ideas and insights on the methods by which air transport can achieve the fastest possible recovery whilst innovating, and collaborating, in new ways to reach greater heights in the future.
Moderator


Zeinab Badawi
Presenter
BBC World News
Panellists


Ulla Lettijeff
SVP - Helsinki Airport
Finavia


Sophie Dekkers
CCO
easyJet


Shawn Duffy
Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
ViaSat
( speaker Invited)


Amy Burr
Managing Director, Operations & Partnerships
JetBlue Technology Ventures
Dynamic approaches to airport planning, technology and sustainability
OPTION 2
Moderator


Ryan Ghee
Head of Strategy & Development
Future Travel Experience
How advanced data-driven approaches are more than ever essential to drive costs down and ensure a structured approach to build back


Korijn Defever
Operational Improvement Manager
Brussels Airport Company
How Swedavia has achieved the world first of Net Zero CO2 operations across its 10 airports, and its ambitions for the future


Karin Gylin
Head of Innovation
Swedavia
How AI is powering Abu Dhabi Airports’ efforts to become smarter and capable of further streamlining passenger journeys through the airport


Mohamed Al Agha
Head of IT Business Solutions, Digital Transformation
Abu Dhabi Airports
New approaches to inflight service, catering & retail
OPTION 1
Format
Following a series of 10-minute case studies, the session will move to a panel discussion to discuss the organisations’ respective approaches and new trends in this space.
Moderator


Julie Baxter
Editor
Onboard Hospitality
Airline Perspectives:
A full-service airline view


Genevieve Rosario
Head of Product Development & Service Design
Qatar Airways
An ultra low-cost carrier view


Lorry Matthews
Senior Advisor Buy-on-Board
Swoop
THE CONSULTANTS VIEW
How Cebu Pacific’s Digital Cabin project is empowering crew efficiency, customer service delivery and revenue creation efforts


Steven Dickson
Managing Partner
Skylight Aviation
Special Presentation
How home food delivery giants Just Eat are now forging new partnerships and propositions that could innovate the inflight world.


Rob Hogema
Manager Global Sales Projects - Travel & Catering
Just Eat


Erwin Hoogzaad
Marketing Operations Lead
Transavia
Digital innovation to drive transformation across an organisation, and to better support passengers in the post-COVID-19 world
Format
Each speaker delivers a 10-minute presentation, followed by a Q&A.
Moderator


Simon Dempsey
Chief Commercial Officer
Plan3
SPEAKERS
How will the Malaysia Airports 4.0 digital transformation strategy reimagine its business for its stakeholders and passengers?


Lee Yiang Ming
Chief Information Officer
Malaysia Airports
Driving digital transformation efforts within Star Alliance to support the alliance, its member airlines and their passengers


Jeremy Drury
Director Digital & Technology Services
Star Alliance
Digital Health Passport Symposium - Part 2 Panel
How can we overcome the challenges to mass adoption of digital health passports, and is this just the first step to the industry establishing a new digital identity for travel in the long-term?
FORMAT
A group of senior industry stakeholders will be asked to discuss key subjects around digital health passports like standardisation, interoperability and privacy. The aim is to provide answers to the challenges identified, along with a suggested path forward.
SPEAKERS TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON
Questions to consider
- How can the industry ensure all digital health passes work together across borders and are interoperable?
- What progress has been made so far to put in place necessary standards for the development and use of digital health passports?
- What is the role of airports in the rollout of digital health passports, and how might they impact daily operations?
- What are the main challenges to the full rollout of the technology?
- How can we protect passengers’ health data at all points of the process?
Airport CEO interview to feature in our OnDemand Speaker Zone
CEO Fireside Chat – “Relaunching Global Air Transport”
Special Guest


Ed Sims
President & Chief Executive Officer
WestJet
Interviewed by


Shashank Nigam
Founder & CEO
SimpliFlying
Automation, robotics & employee augmentation in air transport
MODERATOR


Marta Dimitrova
Editor & FTE Hub Community Manager
Future Travel Experience
SPEAKERS
Post-COVID-19, how is IAG advancing its automation strategies to solve business problems through the introduction of emerging technologies and putting them to the test in live airport operations?


Sarah Kelly
Automation Manager
International Airlines Group (IAG)
( speaker Invited)
How Schiphol’s recently launched Autonomous Airside Operations programme will help achieve its vision to create an autonomous airport in 2050


Rosina Kotey
Innovation Lead
Royal Schiphol Group
MORE SPEAKERS TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON
FTE APEX Biometrics Summit
How can we overcome the challenges to mass adoption of biometrics, and has the business case evolved following the COVID-19 pandemic?
FORMAT
A group of senior industry stakeholders from across the travel world will be asked to provide a three-minute perspective on where they are at with their biometrics initiatives before a panel discussion gets underway around key challenges that need overcoming, including subjects like privacy, health, standardisation and interoperability in an effort to find a suggested path forward.
Moderator


Isabelle Moeller
Chief Executive
Biometrics Institute
Panellists


Adam Klein
Chairman
Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB)
( speaker Invited)


Jordie Knoppers
Customer Journey Manager Seamless Travel & Biometrics
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines


Tanya Acevedo
Chief Technology Officer
Houston Airport System


Sarah Clark
Senior Vice President - Digital Identity
Mastercard


Nael Samha
Director, Passenger Systems & Biometrics
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
( speaker Invited)
Questions to consider
- Following COVID-19, will biometrics play a key role in delivering the contactless airport experience that passengers will desire?
- Following the high number of redundancies caused by COVID-19, will airlines and airports look more closely at automation to fill the manpower void as passenger traffic returns?
- How can we address concerns about data security and privacy around biometrics in air travel?
- What are the key ingredients to making biometrics a palatable part of an airline or airport’s business case?
- How can we get key organisations like U.S. CBP and TSA on the same page about integrating biometric technology?
- How does airport infrastructure need to be adapted to support biometric-enabled queue-less travel?
- How can the industry address problems with different levels of lighting impacting readership/capturing of images and the added challenges caused by passengers wearing masks?
- How can you deal with passengers trying to hack the system – such as using images on a phone screen or disguises?
- Is biometric-powered processing the right approach for all airports, large and small?
- How can we avoid stakeholders taking different approaches with their biometric efforts and delivering different messages to policy makers?
- Can we establish trust with passengers and regulatory bodies through open and transparent working relationships, plus other stakeholders in the travel sphere we want biometrics to work with (car rental, hotels etc), to help drive the business case forward?
- What role can biometrics play in the travel experience beyond the airport (e.g. inflight, hotels, cruise terminals, offsite check-in etc)?
- Will biometrics become tied to ‘health passport’ efforts?
APEX/IFSA Board of Governors Meeting - Virtual Broadcast
Jointly appointed for a one-year renewable term by the Presidents of APEX and IFSA, the APEX/IFSA Board of Governors consists of airline CEOs and Presidents that meet each year to provide top-level strategic guidance for the year ahead. As an appointed joint committee of the associations, the mission of APEX/IFSA Board of Governors will be to guide the advancement of airline passenger experience and in-flight service to best serve our global industry. The APEX/IFSA Board of Governors will convene virtually this year to consider key industry priorities placed forward by the APEX Board of Directors and IFSA Board of Directors. The Board of Governors will each share their views, and formally agree collectively on their strategic guidance, for both associations.
BOARD MEMBERS INCLUDE:


Ed Bastian
CEO
Delta Air Lines & Chairman of the APEX/IFSA Board of Governors


Scott Kirby
CEO
United Airlines


Jóhanna á Bergi
CEO
Atlantic Airways


Ted Christie
President & CEO
Spirit Airlines


Andrés Conesa
CEO
Aeromexico


Zhao Dong
Chairman
Xiamen Airlines


Jayne Hrdlicka
CEO & MD
Virgin Australia


Joanna Geraghty
President & COO
JetBlue


Christine Ourmieres-Widener
CEO Emeritus
flybe


Anne Rigail
CEO
Air France


Claudia Sender
CEO Emeritus
LATAM Airlines


Nguyễn Thị Phương Thảo
President & CEO
Vietjet Air


Anko van der Werff
CEO
Avianca


Shai Weiss
CEO
Virgin Atlantic


Alex Wilcox
Co-Founder & CEO
JetSuite and JSX
Industry messages of support
FTE APEX VIRTUAL EXPO 2021
Future Travel Experience (FTE) and the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) will jointly host the industry trade show with the widest global attendance in 2021, FTE APEX Virtual Expo. Through a diverse exhibition showcasing the industry’s most forward thinking vendors and all-encompassing conference sessions, Virtual Expo will deliver a wealth of networking opportunities and inspiration across the most pertinent topics – from transforming the travel experience through digital health passports and automation at the airport, through to enhancing the onboard experience through inflight entertainment and connectivity, interiors, service and catering, hospitality and retail.
Date: - May 2021
Industry messages of support
FTE APEX VIRTUAL EXPO 2021
Future Travel Experience (FTE) and the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) will jointly host the industry trade show with the widest global attendance in 2021, FTE APEX Virtual Expo. Through a diverse exhibition showcasing the industry’s most forward thinking vendors and all-encompassing conference sessions, Virtual Expo will deliver a wealth of networking opportunities and inspiration across the most pertinent topics – from transforming the travel experience through digital health passports and automation at the airport, through to enhancing the onboard experience through inflight entertainment and connectivity, interiors, service and catering, hospitality and retail.
Date: - May 2021
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