Preparations for the Routes CIS Strategy Forum, being held at Routes CIS in Kharkiv, Ukraine from 7–9 June 2010, are underway. The Strategy Forum will span the three-day networking event and will be moderated by Yulia Crane, Research and Analysis Manager at ASM, Routes’ official consultants, and Tony Griffin, ASM’s Chief Operating Officer.
 
As the first ever Routes event dedicated to the CIS region, Routes CIS will offer the region’s airlines and airports the perfect platform to do business and improve their air transport networks. The Strategy Forum will provide a stimulating forum to aid the development of knowledge across the field of aviation. It will be split into three sessions, hosted by a series of knowledgeable panellists.
 
Session one, entitled ‘CIS Today and in the Future’, will be presented on Monday, 7th June, by Anatoliy Nikolaevich Trotsenko, President, Ukrainian Airports Association; Simon McNamara, General Manager Infrastructure & Environment, European Airline Association (ERA), and Sergey Fomenko, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Ukraine International Airlines. It will be addressing the issues of the growth of air services in the CIS states, looking at air service access to the region and how to enter the market, and the presenters will debate whether low-cost airlines can capture the market.
 
Session two, on Tuesday, 8th June, will be given by Simon McNamara, Darren Brewer, Operations Manager, Astraeus Airlines, and Stanislav Zeman, Aviation Business, Marketing & Product Management Executive Director, Prague Airport. The session will be entitled ‘Cooperation between Airlines & Airports’ and will consider the question ‘Who is the Client: the Airline or the Passenger?’
 
The final session on Wednesday, 9th June, will give guidance on ‘Winning the Airlines’ and will be a workshop hosted by ASM. Tony Griffin and Yuliya Crane will consider the major influences in the airline decision making process, and what your destination has over your competitors.