Algiers gets ready to welcome Africa’s aviation elite

AFRAA IN FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR ALGIERS MEETING

(Posted 27th October 2014)

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Come Monday 10th of November and Africa’s aviation Who is Who will be at the Algiers Hilton Conference Centre listening to the welcome address by host airline Air Algerie Chairman and CEO Mr. Mohamed Salah Boutif. Soon after the official opening will the working sessions commence, four of them alone on day one of the Annual General Assembly of the African Airline Association and a further two on the second working day. An extensive agenda awaits delegates of the AFRAA member airlines and other industry observers who will be keenly watching the CEO Round Table Dialogue, where Kenya Airways’ new CEO Mr. Mbuvi Ngunze will for the first time take to the continental stage following the retirement of his predecessor Dr. Titus Naikuni at the end of October.

Additional sessions will be devoted to discussing such key issues as increasing cooperation among African airlines to facilitate further growth and profitability but also what industry innovations to embrace to take the quantum leap into the 21st century.

With presently only about a quarter of all traffic in and out of Africa carried by African airlines, and plans recently announced by Emirates to increase capacity into Africa by a staggering 40 percent over the next few years – and other non-African airlines from the Gulf, Turkey and Europe equally eying a larger traffic share – will the CEO’s of Africa’s leading airlines, together with AFRAA face unprecedented challenges in the near and medium term. They will all have their work cut out for them to devise appropriate ways and means to secure a larger traffic share for themselves through novel approaches to cooperate beyond the heated competition between the continents’ top airlines and their respective alliances, Star Alliance and SkyTeam.

Towards that end will the cooperative approach introduced by AFRAA through their joint fuel purchasing project and the more recent joint ground handling initiative hopefully bring more airlines on together, aimed to widen the circle of those already reaping substantial financial benefits from such cooperation, and perhaps pave the way for other areas to be explored where additional savings can be generated to improve financial performance.

The full programme is shown below and more details are available via www.afraa.org or www.aga46.afraa.org

09:00 – 10:00	Opening Ceremony • Welcome address by Mr. Mohamed Salah Boultif, President of AFRAA and Chairman & Chief Executive Officer – Air Algerie • Opening remarks by Secretary General, AFRAA, Elijah Chingosho • Remarks by H.E. Dr Elham Mahmoud Ahmed Ibrahim, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy – African Union • Remarks by Mr. Hussein Dabbas, Vice President Africa & Middle East – IATA • Official Opening by the Guest of Honour • Vote of thanks by Mr. Monwabisi Kalawe, CEO of South African Airways and Chairman of the Executive Committee
10:00 – 10:45	Coffee Break
10:45 – 11:00 11:00 – 11:50	Goodwill Messages by Industry Partners • Ms. Iyabo O. Sosina, Secretary General – African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) • Mr. Mam Sait Jallow, Western and Central African (WACAF) Office Regional Director – ICAO Working session 1 Anti-trust briefing and Approval of Provisional Agenda Adoption of Provisional Agenda Adoption of Assembly Programme Approval of minutes of the 45th AGA Summary Report of the Executive Committee to the AGA Annual report of the Secretary General of AFRAA
11:50 – 12:45	Working Session 2 – Closed session Approval of statement of accounts for the year ended 31st December 2013 Appointment of auditors for the year 2014 Approval of budget and membership subscriptions for the year 2015 Election of members to the Executive Committee Appointment of members of Steering Committees and Task Forces Election of Officers – President, Chairman, 1st & 2nd Vice Chairmen of AFRAA Reports of Joint Projects Planned priorities for 2015 Date and Venue of the 47th Annual General Assembly Any Other Business
12:45 – 14:15	Lunch
14:15 – 15:45	Working Session 3 CEOs Roundtable Dialogue CEOs on Panel: • Mr. Mohamed Salah Boultif, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer – Air Algerie • Mr. Driss Benhima, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer – Royal Air Maroc Group • Mr. Monwabisi Kalawe, Chief Executive Officer – South African Airways • Mr. Mbuvi Ngunze, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer – Kenya Airways • Mr. Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Executive Officer – Ethiopian Airlines • Capt Sameh Elhefny, Group Chairman & Chief Executive Officer – EgyptAir • Mme Saloua Sghaier, Chief Executive Office – Tunisair • Mrs Fatima Beyina-Moussa, Director General – Equatorial Congo Airlines (ECAIR) moderator: • Dr John F. O’ Connell, an expert in airline management at the Air Transport Department of Cranfield University, Cranfield University, United Kingdom
15:45 – 16:15	Working Session 4: Special Presentation Development of Intra-African Air Transport by Ms. Adefunke Adeyemi, IATA Regional Head Member and External Relations, Africa and Middle East
16:15 – 17:30	Networking Coffee
19:00 – 22:30	Gala Dinner

Time	Tuesday 11 November
09:00 – 10:30	Working Session 5: 1st Panel Discussion Theme: How to achieve collaboration among African airlines and other stakeholders to facilitate growth and profitability Panelists: • Mr. Yissehak Zewoldi, Chief Executive Officer, ASKY Airlines • Ms. Elcia Grandcourt, Programme Director, Regional Programme for Africa – World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) • Mr. Sanjeev S Gadhia, Chief Executive Officer, Astral Aviation Ltd • Mr. Ali Tounsi, Secretary General – ACI Africa • Ms. Iyabo O. Sosina, Secretary General – African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) • Mr. Mohammad Osta, Procurement Director, Africa – UAS International Trip Support • Mr. John Kassis, Regional VP, Sales, Middle-East and Africa – Bombardier • Mr. Inati Ntshanga, Chief Executive Officer – SA Express Moderator: Mr. David Morris, Snr. Vice President, Commercial – Standard Chartered Bank
10:30 – 11:15	Coffee Break sponsored by Sonelgaz-Algeria
11:15 – 12:45	Working Session 6: 2nd Panel discussion Theme: What innovations should African airlines embrace to be competitive Panelists: • Mr. Paul Murphy, Vice President Sales, Sub Sahara Africa, Bahrain, UAE & Kuwait – SITA Middle East, India & Africa • Mr. Bruno Boucher, Associate Partner Africa – Lufthansa Consulting GmbH • Mr. Kevin Erinjeri, Vice President – IT, Arik Air Ltd • Mr Christoph Althoff, Regional Director Western Europe & Sub-Saharan Africa, Airline Account Management, Europe & Africa – Amadeus IT Group S.A. • Mr. Fouad Yousfi, VP Organization & Information Systems – Royal Air Maroc • Mr. Phinda Ncala, Chief Information Officer – South African Airways Moderator: Mr. Djibril Baba Taboure, VP Middle East and Africa APG Central & West Africa
12:45 – 13:30	Closing Ceremony Announcement of members of the Executive Committee Confirmation of appointments of members of Task Forces and Steering Committees Announcement of Officers – President, Chairman, 1st & 2nd Vice Chairmen of AFRAA Proposed final resolutions Presentation of certificates to Sponsors Acknowledgement of AFRAA Partners Remarks & invitation to the 47th AGA by the incoming President Closing of Assembly by Mr. Mohamed Salah Boultif, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer – Air Algerie
13:30 –14:30	Farewell Lunch