The 7th Routes Europe event will open this weekend in Tallinn, Estonia. Hosted by Tallinn Airport the event will take place at the Radisson Blu Hotel Olümpia and will be attended by more airlines and airports than any previous Routes Europe event.
There are now over 175 Airline Planners registered to attend the event which amounts to a 35% growth in airline delegate numbers from last year’s event which was held in Cagliari. Over 85 Airlines will be represented by Head Quarter based decision makers from Europe’s leading airlines.
Flag carriers will be strongly represented in Tallinn with six delegates in attendance from Lufthansa and registrations also received from Czech Airlines, Turkish Airlines, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Estonian Air and Alitalia. Regional airlines will also be out in force with confirmed registrations received from SkyWork Airlines, Blue Islands, Flybe, Flybe Europe, Germania, Darwin Airline, Danube Wings and Skyways Express along with a strong Russian participation including Aeroflot, S7 Airlines, Rossiya and UTair.
A large low cost carrier presence is at the core of the event with registrations from Ryanair, easyJet, Norwegian.com, Germanwings, Vueling, Jet2.com, transavia.com and Air Berlin who will make their inaugural appearance at Routes Europe this year. Also attending the event for the first time is Spanish start-up carrier Volotea with Chief Strategy Officer Marco Comani leading a team of four. The complete and up to date list of attending airlines can be found here.
This year’s Routes Europe event will also include an extensive Route Exchange programme that will see five carriers deliver an overview of the route development opportunities that exist and how airports can be part of their airline expansion. These exclusive briefings provide a unique insight into the decision making of some of the fastest growing carriers within Europe.
The carriers delivering briefings, which are open to all attending airports, are easyJet, Monarch Airlines, Ryanair, SkyWork Airlines and Volotea. More information on these briefings can be found here.
Routes Europe 2012 will also see more airports and tourism authorities in attendance than in previous years, with more airports attending for the first time than ever before, and with just 2 days to go registrations are still being received. The most recent registrations have come from Hermes Airports, Incheon International Airport, Venice Marco Polo Airport, Malta Tourism, London Southend Airport, Hungarian National Tourist Office and Promote Iceland.
Recent Registrations from first time attendees include Mineralnye Vody International Airport, the Baltic Institute of Finland, Tees Valley Unlimited, Nordland County Council and United Airports of Georgia who will be supported by Ms Vera Kobalia, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development for the Government of Georgia who will also be in attendance.
The event will open on Sunday 20thMay with the Routes Europe Strategy Forum which is open to all registered delegates. This forum will see keynote from Mr Siim Kallas, Vice President European Commission, responsible for transport.
A panel of leading industry experts will then take part in a number of moderator led discussions which will address issues affecting aviation and route development across the region. Sessions will cover The Eurozone Crisis, the impacts of regulation and explore whether now is a good time to sell an airport.
The complete Strategy Forum programme can be found here and high level delegates involved in the panel sessions include, amongst many others, Mr Tero Taskila, President & CEO of Estonian Air, Mr Fernado Estrada, Strategy & Alliances Director for Vueling, Mr Kjartan Jonsson, Director Network Planning for Icelandair, Mr Eric Herbane, Head of French Airport Slot Coordination, EUACA, Mr Wojciech Prokopowicz, Investor Relations for Warsaw Modlin Airport and Mr Zafer Mese, Airline Marketing, Business Development & Investments Europe for TAV Airport Holdings.
Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of the Republic of Estonia will open a spectacular Networking Evening which will take place on Monday 21stMay at Tallinn Song Festival Grounds. The event will include the Routes Europe Marketing Awards and an extensive entertainment programme.
Routes Europe 2012 will be the largest route development forum for the European region and will be the largest event ever to take place in Estonia second only to the Eurovision Song Contest!
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