More than 40 representatives from 15 airlines and two financial institutions joined Boeing in Johannesburg, South Africa, this week to discuss the latest industry trends and share thoughts and ideas for maximizing success in one of the world's toughest industries.participants joined Boeing's Sales team for Africa to attend Boeing's Airline Planning Seminar in Africa - a five-day intensive course that covers many aspects of the aviation industry.
"With over 41 years of experience in the aviation industry, I still made it a priority to attend the Boeing regional Airline Planning Seminar," said Dr. Luis Eduardo dos Santos, board member, TAAG Angola Airlines. "The aviation industry is constantly changing and this seminar provides a tremendous opportunity for me and my colleagues to collaborate and learn from the various airline participants in the region."
The Boeing team organized the seminar as an opportunity to share business best practices with the various airlines and financiers. Throughout the week, eight Boeing executives and subject matter experts presented information on the aviation market outlook, fleet planning and optimization, aviation economics, branding and positioning, and various other critical aspects to operating a successful airline; as well as engaged the group in detailed discussions of experience and knowledge.
"TAAG is proud to be operating a Boeing fleet of modern airplanes and our team is looking forward to receiving the first two 777-300ERs in the African region this year," said Dr. Santos. "Presentations during the seminar from the key Boeing experts on network optimization and the current competitive environment have been very enlightening and useful for our team."
Fani Zulu agreed.
"Boeing's Regional Airline Planning Seminar was excellent and added immense value to the regional aviation industry," said Zulu, head of Group Corporate Affairs for South African Airways (SAA). "The opportunity to listen to and engage in discussions on various topics, such as strategies being employed by various airlines and how their business models evolved has been particularly interesting."
The seminar is led by a team of Boeing subject-matter experts and was organized to address key industry issues in today's highly competitive airline environment.
"Boeing has done an impressive job in putting together the latest industry statistics giving the participants an intimate understanding of the latest trends," said Zulu. "The aviation industry is very competitive, but it was excellent to see that Boeing's key industry experts were able to bring all airlines together to participate in this learning environment."
Boeing forecasts delivery of more than 700 airplanes with a value of approximately $80 billion for the African airplane market over the next 20 years.
"The African economy continues to outpace global economic growth," said J. Miguel Santos, Boeing Sales director for South Africa. "Aviation is a big part of this growth -- both for stimulating the economies, but also as the economies grow, more people are in a position to travel to and from the regions of Africa."
"This seminar has been very informative for me," said Ajay Mistry of Investec Bank, Ltd. "My background is not in the aviation industry, therefore, in developing financing solutions for my customers this seminar helps me ask relevant questions to confirm that an airline's fleet decision is based on a sound business plan."
Boeing's Santos explained that Boeing can do a lot more than design and build airplanes.
"We also have deep knowledge in airplane economics, financing, branding, fleet planning, and a huge network of airlines that we work with regularly," he said. "Many airlines look to us to provide insights in these areas and this planning seminar is one way we can share those insights and bring people together."
