Aviation industry leaders will be gathering in Beijing, China, next week to discuss the industry issues at the 68th IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit, to be held in the Chinese capital by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
IATA, an industry-wide association of 240 airline companies that operate around 84 percent of all global air traffic, will be discussing the industry outlook on various issues, including bio fuels, the effect of social media on the aviation industry, and the future of airline distribution.
The IATA Annual General Meeting will be commencing on June 11, 2012, and will be co-sponsored by Air China, the national air carrier of China.
Tony Tyler, the IATA director general and chief executive officer, said, ‘Oil prices are high, although moderating somewhat from recent peaks. The European sovereign debt crisis is unresolved and we are seeing signs that it is starting to affect Asia’s export-driven economies. And the largely jobless recovery from the 2008 global financial crisis is proceeding at a glacial pace. Passenger demand is strong, cargo is weak and the industry’s profitability remains razor thin.
Beijing is a fitting location for this year’s AGM. It is IATA’s home in North Asia-the location of our largest regional office and largest billing and settlement office, with 132 million tickets processed in 2011. But even more importantly, China is a great aviation success story. The government’s strategy of using aviation to drive economic growth has seen China emerge as an aviation powerhouse.’
