EastEuro Link 2nd Annual Air Transport Conference took place in Bratislava on 4th May 2007 under the auspices of Ministry of Transport, Posts and Telecommunications of the Slovak Republic. Once again regional air transport government officials and industry experts gathered to exchange experiences and ideas, learn more and network in a friendly and constructive atmosphere. The participants agreed on the high importance of air transport for the regional development and connection of national economies and people. They also pointed out the importance of this event for the regional cooperation and industry growth.

Governmental Panelists

Mr. Jan Breja from the same Ministry opened the discussion on the current state of this industry sector in the region, followed by Mr. Herbert Zulinski from the Austrian Civil Aviation Administration and Mr. Alvid Hubijar from the Directorate of Civil Aviation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Safety and security in the air transport, its contribution to climate change and ATM strategies were some of the topics covered within governmental panel. Mr. Adrian Serban from the Romanian Air Traffic Services Administration presented this organisation in the context of the “Single European Sky”.

How to maintain the competitivness and sustainability of traditional airlines in the region? This question provoked very live discussion which brought new ideas and solutions, mainly from the expert speakers such as Mr. David Henderson, Information Manager from Association of European Airlines, Mr. Kim Flenskov, CEO of Lufthansa Consulting and Mr. Dusan Kostic, IATA Country Manager for Serbia and Montenegro. It was obvious that this topic could not be discussed without comparison to low fair airlines and the servicis these carriers offer. Mr. Cristian Mandl, the CEO of SkyEurope, the largest low fair company in the region, gave significant contribution to completing the picture of the current “situation in the sky” but also of the future trends. The conference programme also included the most important topics from the business aviation presented by VistaJet CEO, Mr. Bing Chen who showed that there is both need and potential for the development of this part of the industry.

Mr. Klaus Lotter and Mr. Robert Kobler
Siemens Airports

Ms. Ivana Pulinyova from M. R. Stefanik Bratislava Airport offered excellent case study, showing the very substantial air traffic growth over last 3 years and the assumptions for the future growth rate. New ideas and even more important new solutions on how to improve the services airports offer were brought by Siemens Airports and Mr. Klaus Lotter. This company provides systems and solutions for all airport processes to ensure secure and efficiant passenger flow or air cargo transport.

Finaly, the participants were „taken to the future“ through the presentation of Mr.Jan Barták, from Amadeus Czech Republic and Slovakia and report named „Future Traveller Tribes 2020: A report for the Air Travel Industry developed by Henley Centre HeadLightVision in partnership with Amadeus. Their identification of four future „Traveller Tribes“ has its technology implications which were exhamined.

Business in the Sky - well structured one day conference offered the wealth of information and invaluable networking opportunities. CSEE air transport industry is developing and the platform offered in Bratislava provided opportunities to stay ahaead of the market changes and demands.