FOLLOWING a successful debut at the ITB Berlin 2005, this year’s fair raises some issues about the future direction of air travel.

The global aviation industry, with the emphasis on Aircraft, Airlines and Airports, forms the subject of the 2nd ITB Aviation Day – The Future of Aviation on March 8 as part of the ITB Convention Market Trends & Innovations. Current aspects of the international aviation industry, including a strong focus on the Gulf will be discussed. Admission is free to this day-long event.
Aircraft Types of the Future will be the first topic to be dealt with during the ITB Aviation Day. The following aspects will be discussed between: What types of aircraft will be needed by world aviation in the future? In the wide-bodied jet category what will be the most useful new types of aircraft? Will the A 380 or the B 787 prove to be more successful? What developments will take place in the expanding market of regional jets?
Following a thought-provoking speech by Dr Adam Pilarski, senior vice-president of Avitas, there will be an interview with Randy J Tinseth, director product and services marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Attention then turns to the subject of Restrained growth: no more low-cost hype. Among the subjects to be discussed by a number of prominent contributors will be the question of which concepts will be viable and how many of the low-cost carriers will remain in business. Participants in the panel discussion: Duncan Alexander, managing director OAG EMEA, Philippe Bruyère, programme director Simplifying the Business IATA, John Kohlsaat, general manager easyJet Germany, Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and managing director, UB Group, Kingfisher Airlines and Friedrich-Wilhelm Weitholz, chairman of the Board of Eurowings Luftverkehrs AG. The introductory paper will be given by John Kodolwski, managing director Strategic Intelligence Centre PATA, who will also chair the meeting.
Attention will shift to the carriers in the Gulf under the heading of Gold rush in the Gulf: global hub in the desert sands, in the first afternoon session. This event will examine the strategies behind local investment in aircraft and airports, the airlines Emirates, Etihad, Gulf Air and Qatar Airways, and the shift in the flows of transport as a result of the boom in the Gulf. The discussion between Tim Clark, CEO Emirates, and Fadi Majdalani, partner, Booz Allen Hamilton, will be chaired by Rüdiger Kiani-Kress, editor, Wirtschaftswoche.
Other issues to be discussed include whether the EU is over-airported, fuel efficiency and the consolidation of European carriers.