Day One: Monday 24th September 2012

08.00 Registration and refreshments

09.00 Main conference opening from the Chair

Max Kingsley Jones, Editor, Airline Business

09.10 Opening address

Keynote: Akbar Al Baker, CEO, Qatar Airways

 09.50 The Big Three

• Outlining current alliance strategies and the focus for the next twelve months
• Using the alliance structure to maximise revenue and find more profitable opportunities for airlines
• Reviewing options for medium and small airlines and how to achieve alignment between commercial and strategic objectives
• Explaining how member airlines can manage bilateral relationships with non-aligned organisations
• Considering whether alliances are just an ‘intermediate step’ towards what will happen in the future
• Engaging with the alliance landscape: Is there space for a fourth alliances

Bruce Ashby, CEO, oneworld

Mark Schwab, CEO, Star Alliance

Michael Wisbrun, CEO, Skyteam

11.00 Morning refreshments

11.30 Forming partnerships in a joint venture (JV) and the evolution behind a more integrated business model

• Considering implementation and understanding the mechanics of JV
• Distinguishing between the various forms of cooperation and assessing the return it can generate
• ‘Making it measurable’: How do you define the success of a JV?
• Reviewing regulatory steps and requirements toward achieving immunity and JV approvals

John McCulloch, Senior Principal, Seabury 

12.10 The evolving approach to partnerships: moving from 'one size fits all' to 'different horses for different courses'

• Examining the continued evolution of partner models. From alliances to joint ventures vs. wider multi-lateral partnerships
• Choosing the right strategy for your airline (alliances, bilaterals or multilaterals) Case study: reviewing the partner assessment approach to quantify the real tangible network benefits from partnering with individual airlines vs. a group
• Preparing your airline to realise the benefits of their chosen strategy: moving from 'implementation mode' to 'execution mode'
• Exploring frequently asked questions: Can small, medium or large carriers continue to be independant? What are the implications for large airlines that are left out of the JVs? What circumstances should cause an airline to consider exiting or switching alliances?
• Considering what role the Gulf carriers will play in the global landscape of partnerships

Shakeel Adam, Partner, Athena Aviation

12.50 Lunch

13.50: Panel discussion: ‘The realities of alliance membership’

• Finding the hidden benefits and lost advantages of membership
• Evaluating competition and cooperation for member airlines
• Considering the second tier: What is your place in the pecking order?
• Quitting and switching: Will we witness more migration of airlines between alliances as they continue to form mergers?

Guillermo Bran, Global Alliances Director, Avianca-TACA

Soledad Berrios, VP Strategic Alliances, LAN

Marc Cavaliere, Head of Global Sales Development and Alliances, South African Airways

Bruce P. Dönszelmann, Vice President Alliances, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

Edmond Rose, Director Commercial & Revenue Planning, Virgin Atlantic Airways

14.40 Joint Ventures (JV): A Case Study

• Understanding requirements and working practices of JV before entering them
• Evaluating the benefits of JV partnerships and how to cooperate and develop a solid relationship
• Considering JV against other partnership opportunities
• Reviewing the extent of liberalization that allow JV to take place

Dr Hugh Dunleavy, EVP Alliances, Strategy and Planning, Malaysia Airlines

15.20 Afternoon refreshments

15.50 The role of airports in alliances

• Exploring the interaction between alliances and airport strategies and capabilities
• Assessing the impact of cooperation with alliances on airport operations
• Outlining connectivity and infrastructure challenges: what can airports do to affect and attract alliances?                                    

Andrew Macmillan, Operations Improvement Director, Heathrow Airport

16.20 One to one meetings

17.00 Closing remarks and end of conference

Day Two: Tuesday 25th September 2012

09.30 Main conference opening from the Chair

09.40 Consolidation: debating and discussing the next 12 months

• Predicting the future of consolidation and how this might change the global alliance picture: Will the rest of the world follow in the steps of the United States and Latin America?
• Reviewing the impacts and process changes of mergers
• Validating which partnerships are already well achieved and lessons that can be learnt from them
• Communicating new co-operation and partnership agreements to customers and stakeholders

10.20 Technology: aligning systems to support better partnerships

• Interlining with other carriers and how to deal with subsequent system differences
• Evolving communication requirements and technology challenges as partnerships grow
• Different impacts including reservation and revenue management implications as a result of airlines meeting other carriers in partnerships

Senior representative, Sabre

11.00 Morning refreshments

11.30 What do you need to know about regulation?

• Reviewing the latest legal evolutions and concrete cases around anti trust legislation
• To what extent are alliances and other partnerships affected by regulation?
• Managing relationships with regulatory authorities

12.10 Synergies to maximise the benefits of cooperation

• How do airlines concretely achieve expected synergies? Outlining cooperative and competitive strategies
• Managing the cultural differences between airlines to ensure a consistent and successful relationship
• Optimising schedule management, the consolidated network and revenue management upon entering partnerships

Stephan Nagel, Senior Vice President Strategy, Air Berlin

Nicolas Rhoads, Director Fleet Planning, Aeromexico

Karim Makhlouf, CCO, Gulf Air

Zhao Xiaosong, Senior Vice President, China Southern

12.50 Lunch

14.00 Reviewing the LCC model

• Realising the challenges of traditional LCC models integrating into alliances
• Establishing relationships: What is required of LCCs if they are to partner other carriers?
• Exploring the wider impact of LCC doing longhaul

Stanislav Solomko, Director Network Management, Lufthansa Consulting

15.00 Afternoon refreshments and one to one meetings

16.00 End of Alliances, Joint Ventures and Partnerships 2012