By Jeff Peet, Managing Editor, ALA News  You were appointed in 2023 as Chairperson of the Board of Directors. What has been your greatest interest or concern and what do you think you have achieved so far in this new capacity? Pegasus Airlines has a motto: "We did not start aviation in Türkiye, but we transformed it".   Pegasus was the first to adopt the "low-cost airline" business model in the country – and now we have successfully developed it into our region and beyond, as at the heart of what we do, we believe that everyone has the right to fly. I consider myself fortunate to serve in such a pioneering company as Pegasus Airlines, first as CEO and now [...]

By Jeff Peet, Managing Editor, ALA News. What is the nature of the event that has brought you to Ottawa, Canada on this occasion? Giovanni Di Antonio: In Ottawa we are working on the second plenary session of our organization this year. We usually meet biannually in different parts of the world and in accordance with a given hosting member aviation authority. The current meeting here has allowed us to return to our twice-a-year gatherings that had experienced a parenthesis during the pandemic. We are a well-structured voluntary organization made of 64 national civil aviation authorities plus EASA and EUROCONTROL. What are the regions of the world where you are the most active? LIU Hao: JARUS covers three regions of [...]

Source: ATN Last year you celebrated 10 years what are the key points of the success? While every airline is different, at Volotea, our success is due to a combination of factors, the first being that we offer routes among small and medium-sized cities that, before our arrival, required a connection in a major hub. Among other factors, we can certainly include our foresight in identifying opportunities, the strategic expansion of our network, and a consistent approach to executing our plans. Additionally, our pilots and cabin crew, and HQ staff - this year we will employee around 1750 people – together with our airport partners have all played a critical role in the process. And, of course, we would be [...]

By Jeff Peet, ALA News Managing Editor, from Istanbul. In terms of the environment, you have made a huge advance in water saving, for example. What are the improvements you have implemented and was that a goal or is it part of a greater plan? We are committed to the 2050 goals of the industry. When we started this project back in 2014-2015, the first department that was formed was the one dedicated to the environment. Even before the design and planning stages, such area was already in place so the whole project was put in that perspective. But environment to us goes beyond as we have managed sustainability concerns and improvements from the first minute. That has been an [...]

Source: ACI-LAC 1.- What do you think is necessary to stimulate innovation in the airport industry and what innovations will be most needed in the coming years in Latin America? Airport infrastructures have the great challenge of being at the forefront and respond to the needs of the changing world, especially to ensure that they can have a more sustainable operation and in harmony with the environment, and at the same time achieve efficiencies that allow them to be more profitable and meet current and future needs. That is why it is necessary, as we have been doing at El Dorado airport, to transform strategies to meet business objectives while being sustainable. Thanks to our sustainable infrastructure, El Dorado is [...]

By Jeff Peet, Managing Editor of ALA News, from Amsterdam. 1. What is the balance you can make after more than 8 years at KLM? It is now 8 years indeed at KLM as CEO and a total of 30 years in the company but these last 8 at the helm have three very distinct time-frames for KLM and me. The first one, between 2014 an 2019, was the lead-up to our 100th KLM anniversary so when I started on 2014 we set a goal. It was a very inspirational one about thriving and being an energetic company. That was the first period of my time here as CEO, with a KLM record number of passengers in 2019 of 35.1 [...]

Source: SITA As travel becomes more connected and intermodal, having unified digital systems that simplify the passenger journey across land, sea and air will become increasingly important. Benoit Verbaere, Director of Business Development, Travel and Transportation at SITA, was requested to share his thoughts on the digital shift brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and explain how te company is bringing its IT and expertise to the wider travel market. 1. As the pandemic reshaped travel, how do you see the state of the market right now? How does the landscape look from a recovery point of view?   The pandemic didn't quash peoples' desire to travel. It has reshaped how they want to travel. Passengers have told us they want [...]

Source: ACI-LAC Nuevo Pudahuel has managed to certify the reduction of 11% of emissions in the last three years Among the various lines of action, the construction of an "On-Grid" photovoltaic plant stands out on the roof of the national terminal, which allows it to generate a power of 825,774 kW, which is equivalent to planting more than a thousand trees or taking 130 fuel vehicles out of circulation. traditional 1.- Nuevo Pudahuel Group has just inaugurated the new international terminal at Santiago airport and this operation represents the largest investment in the history of concessions in Chile. How would you describe this show of confidence in the resumption of the air transport industry, which is still suffering from the [...]

By Jose Ricardo Botelho* Welcome aboard of a new flight where we share the cabin with Marcelo Mello, Head of Structured and Assets Finance at Nantes Mello Advogados in Brazil, an ALTA consulting member company since 2021. On this occasion we will delve into the impact that the pandemic has had and now the important challenges resulting from the Russia-Ukraine conflict in the financing and leasing of aircraft. A fundamental piece in the cost structure of an airline that is directly related to multiple external and internal factors. There are many variables to consider, and I hope that this article allows us to open a new dialogue to develop more initiatives in order to continue generating efficiencies for the sector [...]

Fuente: ACI-LAC 1.- As the new Vice President of the Board of Directors of ACI-LAC, in your opinion, what will be the main challenges for the sector for this new year? I can say that 2021 leaves us with a message of optimism when we look ahead for several reasons: the vaccination process in Latin America and the Caribbean is going very well compared to other regions and the traveler already has the confidence to move. We see how several countries in the region have had a good recovery of their passenger traffic and capacity, as is the case of Mexico, which was only 10% below pre-pandemic levels in October 2021, or the Dominican Republic, which was only 5% below. [...]