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Press release
- 16.01.1900
- 7th Hamburg Aviation Conference
Aviation industry: demand will grow again
Airlines, airports and public authorities need new concepts
More than 200 scientists of worldwide renown and top ranking senior executives in the aviation industry will be meeting at the 7th Hamburg Aviation Conference to discuss current developments in world aviation. The conference takes place at the Radisson SAS Hotel Hamburg from February 18 to 20.
The focal topic will be alliances and partnerships between airlines, airports and public authorities. "The aviation industry is currently in the middle of structural change. Whether new low cost carriers or price pressure from the consumer, the competition is huge", said Werner Hauschild, chairman of the management board at Flughafen Hamburg GmbH before the conference began. He appealed to the whole aviation industry: "Improvement of the cost structure is the constant task of every manager in any line of business. Ongoing discussions about this distract from giving adequate thought to concepts, innovations, improved service or differentiated products. The aim must be to win customers through service, not just through prices. This is the only way to long term success, rather than being afraid of one's own creativity."
Aviation experts forecast growing demand, although it remains to be seen how airlines and airports are going to have to adapt their business models to changing market situations. Whereas in the past, airports enjoyed a monopoly position, today they compete with each other for airline customers and new routes. And they woo their customers with a wide range of services in terms of catering, retailing and more besides. The public authorities also have a role to play: when all is said and done, they are frequently involved as shareholders in the airports.
The central topic of the 7th Hamburg Aviation Conference is therefore the question in which form the public authorities will enter into alliances and partnerships with the airports as their direct customer. Hauschild: "Hamburg Airport has an ideal position: we maintain outstanding business relationships with traditional airlines and with numerous newcomers in the low-cost segment."
Another topic will be the negotiation for traffic rights between Europe and the USA. Will we soon be seeing the "wide open skies", and where are the changes for the aviation industry? It is of major importance for both airlines and airports that restrictions fall on both seat capacities and on the free choice of destinations between Europe and the USA, as is already the case for flights within the EU.
On the conference itself, Hauschild commented: "The conference will give a scientific emphasis to Hamburg's standing as a major aviation location. The broad resonance of participants from all five continents once again proves that we were right when initiating the first conference seven years ago." The Hamburg Aviation Conference has become a visiting card for Hamburg and is already referred to among the experts as the "Aviation Summit".
The Hamburg Aviation Conference is organised under the joint leadership of Hamburg Airport with the Department for Trade and Labour of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg together with Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWA).
Press contact: Schellenberg & Kirchberg PR
phone + 49(0)40 593 50 500