Speaking at the final session of the Outlook Summit’s first day, three key decision makers from three different class of airlines showcased their views in a conversation that underscored the segmentation the global industry is undergoing…
Speaking at the final session of the Outlook Summit’s first day, three key decision makers from three different class of airlines showcased their views in a conversation that underscored the segmentation the global industry is undergoing.
The issue of alliances was a case in point. Mike Whitaker, Senior Vice President for Alliances, International and Regulatory Affairs at United Airlines, reiterated how vital his carrier’s membership in the Star Alliance is for extending United’s reach in international markets it could not profitably serve itself and for allowing it to generate modest efficiency gains in the absence of a pro-international merger environment.
On the other side of the issue was Tiger Airways CEO, Tony Davis, who says his ultra-low cost carrier will shy away from anything that adds layers of cost or complexity to its operations. "If I don’t cooperate with Singapore Airlines, am I going to join a multilateral grouping?" he asked, speaking of the carrier which owns 49% of Tiger and which shares its Singapore Changi base.
Still another voice heard in the Aviation Strategic Leadership session, which was chaired by Centre Executive Chairman Peter Harbison, was Etihad CEO, James Hogan. The head of the fast-growing Abu Dhabi flag carrier said that his carrier had no interest in joining a global alliance, at least over the medium term. Etihad will rather continue to focus on strengthening its selectively chosen bilateral relationships, which allow it to maintain better control over issues of product and brand, which are vital to the new airline as it works to establish itself in the ultra-service-competitive Gulf market.
The vastly different responses to the alliance question was one of the ways the session illustrated that the airline industry’s consumer offering is becoming more segmented. Mr Whitaker spoke to this phenomenon when he stated: "One of the biggest myths about the business is that air travel has become commoditised."
Aviation Outlook Summit 2008 is the fourth meeting of the Centre’s annual review of the Asia Pacific and Middle East airline industry and its future prospects. This year’s gathering is focused on the need for Asian industry participants to play a leadership role in the events that continue to shape the global aviation sector, especially as the region begins to generate the largest share of world traffic.
Aviation leaders from all segments of the industry have assembled in Singapore to discuss and debate how the regional sector can proactively assert itself in such vital fields as the environment, liberalisation and the necessary evolution of the aviation business model, for both full-service and low cost airlines.
The event’s organiser, the Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, is the region’s leading independent air transport research and analysis group. With offices in New Delhi, Singapore, Geneva, Vancouver and the UK, the Centre is the consensus authority on matters related to all elements of Asia Pacific airlines and airports.
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