Wednesday, 25 and Thursday, 26 March 2020– 09.00–17.45/  09.30 – 13.30

12th ACI AIRPORT ECONOMICS & FINANCE CONFERENCE & EXHBITION

The conference will consist of numerous high-level sessions including cutting edge presentations and panel discussions from industry leaders, top level decision makers and other airport professionals.

Airports at the crossroads

 

WEDNESDAY 25 MARCH 2020

Confirmed Speakers
Philip Petit, AviAlliance
Johan Scholvinck, Market Square
Hoi See Song, Plaza Premium Lounges
Andrew Ford, Paccaya Resources
Christopher Poinsatte, Dallas Fort-Worth Airport
Vianney Heeran, Royal Schiphol Airport
Waleed Youssef, PPP Airport Project
Ahmad Rizal Omar, Malaysia Airports Holdings

08.00 – 09.00 REFRESHMENTS ON ARRIVAL IN THE EXHIBITION

09.00 – 10.15 WELCOME AND KEYNOTE ADDRESSES

10.15 – 10.45 NETWORKING REFRESHMENT BREAK IN THE EXHIBITION

10.45 – 11.15 SPECIAL PRESENTATION

11.15 – 12.15 SESSION ONE: PRIVATISATION AS A PATH TO UPGRADE INFRASTRUCTURE AND DELIVER A BETTER PASSENGER EXPERIENCE
People expect more from the airports they use as the air transport market evolves. Today air transport is a buoyant and vigorous sector of economic output and value creation for society, and users of airports can fully carry the costs while still allowing dynamic developments. Governments have turned to the private sector to develop maintain and operate airports for a variety of reasons. With a need for large capital expenditure into airports globally, at the same time as travelers expect higher quality services in airports, what benefits can private sector participation bring?

12.15 – 13.30 SESSION TWO: PROTECT OR INNOVATE? OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS TO COMMERCIAL REVENUES
Non-aeronautical revenues are an important component to the airports’ bottom. However, with demographic and technological change, the airport industry continues to experience major business model transformation in a relatively short period of time. Commercial revenue sources such as food and beverage face continued growth, while conventional product categories that are a source of duty-free revenue such as tobacco are under threat by government efforts to restrict their sale. Other exogenous factors relate to the rise of sharing economy platforms in transportation and real estate that have cannibalized traditional sources of revenues in car parking, car rental and hotel revenues. How can the industry protect the commercial revenue base in the context of technological disruption and heightened regulatory oversight? What are some product innovations, new service offerings and pricing strategies that airports could devise to mitigate declines in their commercial revenues in certain areas?

13.30 – 14.30 NETWORKING LUNCH IN THE EXHIBITION

14.30 – 16.00 SESSION THREE: BUILDING AIRPORTS FOR RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY – CLIMATE BONDS AND GREEN FINANCING
Green financing represents an important and viable alternative that aims to align sustainable development solutions with the required financial flows to meet those goals. Can the objectives of private investors be reconciled with the broader environmental concerns that relate to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)? How does green financing strike the balance between environmental accountability and a reasonable rate of return? Panelist will answer these and more questions.

16.00 – 16.30 NETWORKING REFRESHMENT BREAK IN THE EXHIBITION

16.30 – 17.45 SESSION FOUR: ALTERNATIVES TO THE CONVENTION – ISLAMIC FINANCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
The growth of Islamic finance continues to reach double digits year-after-year in terms of the value of underlying assets with sukuk bond issues making up a significant portion of the Islamic banking market. According to Thomson Reuters’ 2018 Islamic Finance Development Report, in 2017 Sharia-compliant assets reached a total value of $2.44 trillion, up from $200bn in 2003. At the same time, the industry has been concentrated in only a handful of markets covering mainly the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Iran and Malaysia. What are some advantages of this financing option in the context of airports over other conventional approaches? What are some of the untapped markets for Islamic finance and what are the prospects for airport infrastructure development in the coming years?

19.30 – 22.30 GALA DINNER

THURSDAY 26 MARCH 2020

Confirmed Speakers
Andrew Charlton, Aviation Advocacy
Andrea Waechtershaeuser, IATA
Marek Bekier, ACR
Gabriel De la Rica, Ferrovial
Germal Singh, MAVCOM

08.30 – 09.00 REFRESHMENTS ON ARRIVAL IN THE EXHIBITION

09.00 – 09.15 Conference chair welcome

09.15 – 10.45 SESSION FIVE: THE CAPACITY CRUNCH AND ECONOMIC OVERSIGHT
Irrespective of the global economic slowdown over the near term, airports in many parts of the world continue to experience capacity constraints. From a regulatory standpoint, how can we ensure and incentivize the adequate provision of infrastructure to meet the growing demand for air transport over the long term? What are the appropriate models of airport economic regulation that induce greater allocative efficiency in the provision of infrastructure but that also enable a reasonable return on investment? These and more questions will be answered by a panel of experts.

10.45 – 11.15 NETWORKING REFRESHMENT BREAK IN THE EXHIBITION

11.15 – 12.30 SESSION SIX: USING MARKET MECHANISMS WHEN DEMAND EXCEEDS SUPPLY
The launch of the Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines (WASG) marks an important step forward in the aviation industry and chronologically follows the reform of the governance signed last June in Seoul. The WASG provide the necessary foundations to define the slot allocation system at global level but more will be done to help the aviation ecosystem to face the increasing congestion on the ground. In particular, how do we complement the administrative allocation of slots with market mechanisms that are responsive to the needs of passengers and aviation stakeholders?

12.30 – 13.30 FAREWELL LUNCH IN THE EXHIBITION