Successful first day at ALTA CCMA & MRO Conference

• ALTA CCMA & MRO Conference reaches record post pandemic numbers with the participation of nearly 100 airline representatives and more than 160 industry supplier companies.

The first day of the academic agenda of the ALTA CCMA & MRO Conference has successfully concluded. ALTA’s CEO José Ricardo Botelho welcomed over 500 participants recalling the work that ALTA has carried during the last year and a half.

“We had meetings with authorities, associations, companies, and key stakeholders to demonstrate the importance of this industry that manages to transport millions of doses of vaccines and carry people who need it, that contributes to reactivate a broad economic chain, generating well-being for millions of people. For this reason, measures like financial support, smart regulation, standardized protocols, accepting vaccination cards, among others, are crucial for supporting a sector that generates jobs and possibilities. Those who are here today are warriors who keep this essential industry alive”, stated Botelho.

Meanwhile, Pedro Heilbron, CEO of Copa Airlines and President of ALTA’s Executive Committee, focused his welcoming remarks on the lessons learned from the pandemic, among them, the importance of collaboration and global harmonization between States, as well as the effect of quarantines, which are costly and may not be the most effective solution.

Carlos García, keynote speaker and representative of the multinational consulting firm Oliver Wyman, provided figures on the size of the air fleet on a regional and global scale, as well as forecasts on the current aircraft maintenance, repair, and operation (MRO) market. Among the data shared, he showed that we will recover the number of fleet operating in 2019 in 2025 and that in 2020 the aircraft retirement rate doubled globally, while in Latin America this number grew 20%.

The recovery prospects for Latin American and Caribbean tourism were another important topic discussed since the region has an outstanding tourism offer in the world. Given this reality, the aviation industry plays a crucial role in the value chain, by ensuring connectivity in the region. The panelists who spoke on this topic were Alex Gunten, SVP of HEICO; Arturo Barreira, President of Airbus Latin America; and Frank Rainieri, Founder of Grupo Punta Cana, and Alexandre Malfitani, CFO of Azul. Rainieri recalled the efforts for 10 days to support 86 thousand tourists to return home in early 2020 and the contrast with the progress in recovery and expansion now that 92% of the population in Punta Cana is vaccinated. He highlighted the importance of government-industry integration, collaborative work and the role of aviation, especially in cargo, which has further demonstrated its essential role in the last year and a half. As an example of government-industry collaborative work, the Dominican Republic offers visitors to Punta Cana health insurance so that they feel even safer visiting the country.

Next, a panel made up of Carlos García, Principal of Oliver Wyman, Mikel Piña, VP of Purchases of Aeroméxico, Rafael Samudio, VP of Purchases of Copa Airlines and Robin Johansson, Senior Director of Sales Latin America & Caribbean, Lufthansa Technik, analyzed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the air transport supply chain. The academic agenda of the day culminated with the panel where the state of the MROs in the region was presented, by representatives of Nicolas Osorio, Airbus Consulting, Alejandro Echeverría, CEO, Aeroman, Caroline Vandedrinck, SVP, SR Technics, Carlos Costa , Director, GOL Aerotech and Daniel Cohen, Director Copa Airlines.

The day also featured multiple spaces for relationships and more than a thousand mini-meetings between representatives of airlines and suppliers. At the same time, the annual face-to-face meeting of the ALTA Technical Committee and the Aeronautical Material Buyers Committee (CCMA) took place, which has more than 100 meetings in its history, being the oldest meeting of this nature in the Americas. In parallel, the first day of the Fuel Committee was held with the meeting for airline executives.

The conference demonstrated that it is possible and positive to resume face-to-face spaces with all security protocols, that the industry has professionals committed to its recovery and that ALTA remains the meeting place for the airline industry in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Access the recording of the panels and presentations here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO9qu5BaVjU

Sponsors: 630 Aerospace, AEG Fuels, AeroVision, Air France Industries, Airline MRO Parts (AMP), S de RL, Argus Media, Aolia Aerospace, AvAir, Collins Aerospace, Delta Tech Ops, Embraer, Fenix Aerospace, Fokker Services, Global Airtech, Heico, Hurricane Aerospace, Honeywell, IBS, Inmarsat, Kellstrom Aerospace, Meggitt Customer Services & Support, PartsBase, PPG Aerospace, Proponent, Punta Cana Airport, Spirit AeroSystems, STS Aviation Group, Thales, TP Aerospace, Turbo Resources, Universal Avionics.