At Aviation Festival Asia, Pieter Elbers, CEO, IndiGo, Chai Eamsiri, CEO, Thai Airways, Campbell Wilson, CEO & MD, Air India, and Tony Douglas, CEO, Riyadh Air joined moderator Brian Sumers, Editor, Airline Observer for the keynote CEO panel. The session titled, “What is the future of the APAC industry as we reach a full recovery and how will further digital technology adoption, sustainability, collaboration, and new business models help shape the outlook for 2024 and beyond?” saw the leaders unpack the current state and future outlook of the industry, focusing on supply chain challenges, demand, personalisation, and sustainability.
In the panel, the airline leaders expressed optimism about eventually overcoming supply chain issues, contextualising them within a longer history of challenges with OEMs. The session also highlighted a disparity between the CEOs’ emphasis on personalisation and their respective customers’ willingness to pay for it, with some passengers demanding a highly personalised service while others prioritise a lower price. Towards the end of the session, the panel also discussed SAF and the growing cost of decarbonisation. Eamsiri emphasised the sustainability challenge as a collective responsibility, suggesting airlines should not have to single-handedly foot the bill.
For all this and more, watch the 45-minute session below.
For more from these speakers see:
- Chai Eamsiri on Thai Airways’ strategic shift
- Campbell Wilson on Air India’s transformation and capitalising on a growing market, “The world’s our oyster.”
- Keynote: Pieter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo – Developing from a domestic carrier into a global aviation giant
- “The gift we possess is a blank sheet of paper, we have no legacy.” Tony Douglas, CEO, Riyadh Air
