EXCLUSIVE – IATA All Business At AGM

The top executives from the world’s airlines are in Sydney, Australia wrestling with a range of issues impacting on air travel at the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) annual general meeting.

PressToday’s Quebec editor, Mike Dunbar is on hand for the event and offers the following notable quotes from the meeting so far:

• Director general Alexandre de Juniac on the industry’s slim margins despite healthy profits, ”Compared to other industries, a 4.1% margin or $7.76 per passenger is not a large number.”
• Qantas CEO Alan Joyce on the same subject, “It doesn’t take much to put pressure on profits whether we’re dealing with manufacturers, travel agents or airports.”
• De Juniac on trade wars and protectionism, “Barriers to trade and travel are bad news for passengers, traffic numbers and the industry. We haven’t seen significant reductions in passengers and cargo but, if it continues, it could happen.”
• Joyce on impending pilot shortages and gender equality in aviation, “The industry will need 640,000 new pilots over the next two decades. Qantas is going into schools with our female captains who are urging girls to take subjects that will be compatible with entry into pilot school.”
• De Juniac on global affairs of late and a dig at Trump? “Aviation has a purpose. It spreads prosperity and enriches the human spirit. Everyone is better off when borders are open to people and to trade and our hard work as an industry has primed aviation to be an even stronger catalyst for an even more inclusive globalization.”

Watch for more from the IATA AGM in upcoming issues of Press Today and Canadian Travel Press.