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eaC 2023 preliminary agenda 

09.00am

EAC Day 1 - 29 November 2023 -  Welcome

Welcome note

09.30am

Session 1: Scene Setting Panel - Air Cargo Suddenly Under the Spotlight

Air cargo was hardly ever the protagonist of air transport policies. Yet, the COVID-19 pandemic cast a bright light on its importance and that of logistics in general, in a way that no other policy discussion ever has managed to do.  While passenger traffic ground to a halt, all-cargo and express operators, as well as passenger planes swiftly turned into ‘preighters’, kept hospitals stocked around the world and bore the brunt of international vaccine distribution.  Looking ahead, global geopolitical changes are upending long-held tenets on international trade, which may lead to important shifts in supply chains in the next few years, and indeed the resurgence of trade blocks and protectionism.   What does this all mean for air transport policies, and how should they adapt, especially with regard to air cargo?  This session will explore the recent trends in air cargo during and after the pandemic, and set the scene for more detailed discussions on policy implications during the conference.

Session Chair:  TBA

Session Speaker: Andrew Charlton, Managing Director, Aviation Advocacy

Session Speaker: Glyn Hughues, Director General, The International Air Cargo Association

Session Speaker: TBA: A delegate from Accenture (Consultancy)
Session Speaker: TBA: 
A delegate from FedEx

10.30am

Session 2: The Global Role of Air Freight in Trade

A significant and growing proportion of international trade is now carried by air. How large is this market, and what are its components? What are, and what are likely to be the main barriers to this trade? What are the implications of greater strategic competition between trade blocs, such as China and the US/Europe? Will there be less trade, or mainly a shift in the direction of flows? To what extent will developing countries be affected? How will freight hubs such as Hong Kong, Luxemburg and Schiphol be affected?

Session Chair: Cortney Robinson, Air Transport Officer, Air Cargo at The International Civil Aviation Organization

Session Speaker: Anming Zhang, Professor, Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia

Session Speaker: Brian Pearce, Visiting Professor, Cranfield University, former IATA Chief Economist

Session Speaker: Steve Altman, Senior Research Scholar and Director of DHL Initiative on Globalization at NYU Stern School of Business

11.20am

Coffee break

11.40am

Session 3: Fireside Chat with ICAO on global crisis response, traffic rights, and other air cargo priorities

Session Chair: Charles Stotler, Co-Director, University Mississippi Centre for Air and Space Law

Session Speaker: Mohammed Khalifa Rahma, Director, Air Transport Bureau, International Civil Aviation Org

12.25am

Lunch Break

14.00pm

Session 4: Air Services Agreements

All-cargo air services, the importance of which arose to public consciousness during the COVID-19 pandemic, are perhaps the vanguard of liberalization.     

Notably the US-EU Open Skies agreement of 2007/2010 permits 7th freedom services.  Brazil recently proposed extending the LACAC 7th freedom MOU – a COVID-19 mitigation measure – beyond its original temporary framework.  Yet, air traffic agreements negotiated between the EU and Qatar and the EU and ASEAN have limited all-cargo 7th freedoms.  In addition to such limits, these new ‘comprehensive’ agreements feature enhanced clauses on social and environment issues, financial transparency and competition law – clauses which potentially counter trends in liberalization. This panel will examine the evolution of air service agreements and the potential for air freight to lead the way toward further liberalization.

Session Chair: Barry Humphreys, Chair, BKH Aviation

Session Speaker: Mark Bosly, United Kingdom Chief Air Services Negotiator, UK Department for Transport

Session Speaker: Charles Stotler, Co-Director, University of Mississippi, Centre for Air and Space Law

Session Speaker: Carlos Bermejo Acosta, Negotiator at DG MOVE

Session Speaker: TBA : A delegate from ASEAN

Session Speaker: TBA: A delegate from LACAC

 

15.00pm

Session 5: E-Commerce and the Digital Economy - How digital transport and trade are poised to increase efficiency across the supply chain.

Already showing robust growth pre-pandemic, the closure of physical marketplaces due to pandemic restrictions forced many consumers to transition to e-commerce solutions for daily life, thus introducing them to the digital economy. Despite economic uncertainty, e-commerce growth is now far ahead of pre-pandemic projections yet the supply chain—across all modes of transport—relies on outdated, paper-driven processes and cannot keep pace with growth without compromising safety, security and efficiency. This panel will examine how e-commerce is impacting air cargo, as well as other modes, and how stakeholders are collaborating to increase supply chain efficiency through digital transformation of information exchange, both B-to-B and B-to-G.

Questions:

  • How has e-commerce changed the air cargo landscape and what are the future prospects?

  • How does air cargo fit into the digital economy and how must the sector adapt?

  • Who benefits in digital transformation of the supply chain and what are the risks of being left behind?

  • Concerning information exchange, what are regulators requiring of other stakeholders and what must they provide?

Session Chair: TBA

Session Speaker: Steven Pope, Chair/VP, Group Head Trade Facilitation, ICC Global Trade & Investment Policy Commission Go Trade / Deutsche Post DHL Group

Session Speaker: Chris McDermott, CEO, CHAMP Cargosystems

Session Speaker: Elisabeth Tuerk, Director, Economic Cooperation and Trade, UN Economic Commission fro Europe (UNECE)

Session Speaker: Kunio Mikuriva, Secretary General of the World Customs Organization

15.50pm

Coffee Break 

16.15pm

Session 6: Emerging Business Models and multi-modality

The traditional models of air freight are being challenged as old models are being rethought and new market entrants with different models are emerging. Challenges to the ecosystem emerge from several directions. For instance, maritime companies, such as Maersk, are entering this segment by providing end-to-end solutions, and Amazon, who wet leases and own some freighters to serve its own operations. What are the dynamics that are likely to play out? What policy implications emerge? Is there room for everyone?

Session Chair: Wouter Dewulf, Professor, Antwerp Management School

Session Speaker: Margi Van Gogh, Head of Supply Chain and Transport Industries, World Economic Forum

Session Speaker: David Gillen, Professor, Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia

Session Speaker: Ferwin Wieringa, Global Head of Air Freight, Maersk

Evening

EAC 2023 Gala Dinner

Venue Details to Follow 

09.00am

EAC Day 2 - 30 November 2023 -  Welcome

Review of day 1 
Overview of day 2 

09.15am

Session 1: Martin Kunz Lecture - Thomas Klein, Cargolux, 'What I have learned about air cargo in the past 3 years that I did not know in the previous 30 years'

Session Chair: TBA

Session Speaker: Thomas Klein, Vice-President Controlling & Business Intelligence, Cargolux

10.00am

Session 2: European Air Freight: Looking back and forward

One-on-one interview with Filip Cornelis and Simon Wright

Session Chair: Simon Wright, Industry Editor, The Economist

Session Speaker:  Filip Cornelis, Director for Aviation, European Commission

10.45am

Coffee Break 

11.00am

Session 3: A session by the International Transport Forum at the OECD: What future for the freight sector? 

The ITF will present its long-term global freight projections for different decarbonisation scenarios, and based on the modelling work underpinning the ITF Transport Outlook 2023. ITF and other invited experts will then discuss what different scenarios imply for the global aviation sector and what policymakers can already do today to help achieve a more resilient and sustainable freight sector

Session Chair: Jagoda Egeland, Advisor to the Secretary General, International Transport Forum

Session Speaker: Young Tae Kim, SG of EACD/ITF

Session Speaker: TBA
Session Speaker: TBA

12.00pm

Session 4: Air Freight and Climate Impacts

Air cargo accounts for about 40% of world trade by value. At the same time whether belly hold or dedicated freighter, sending goods by air is many times more carbon intensive than transportation by ship, road or rail. But decarbonisation requirements do not generally distinguish between passenger and freighter aircraft. This session will firstly assess progress on Fit for 55 legislation in the EU covering the aviation sector and then explore some specific industry airfreight initiatives.    

Session Chair: TBA

Session Speaker: Bill Hemmings, Director, Rosetta Advisory Services

Session Speaker: TBA

Session Speaker: A delegate from Strategic Aviation Solutions International

12.45pm

Lunch Break 

14.15pm

Session 5: Infrastructure and Operational Challenges in Air Cargo Logistics

 

What are current challenges and opportunities in air cargo logistics? What are lessons learned from the pandemic? How will air cargo logistics move toward lower emissions and more sustainable operations? How can European policy harmonization support developing air cargo logistics further?

Session Chair: Anne Lange, Professor at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences

Session Speaker: Christian Lehr, Senior Director, Global Fulfillment, Lufthansa Cargo

Session Speaker: Timo Stroh, Head of Global Airfreight and Life Science & Healthcare

Session Speaker: Hendrik Bender, VP Group Sales, BD and Marketing, Sovereign Speed

Session Speaker: Ram Menon, Chief Commercial Officer, Wallenborn Group

15.00pm

Session 6: The Scope of Drones

Will we see cargo drones in the near future? Where is the market heading? How can these unmanned aerial vehicles co-exist in the already congested air space? 

The panel will discuss operational capabilities and business models as well as regulatory aspects to ensure continuous air space safety

Session Chair: Benjam Bierwirth, Professor, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences

Session Speaker: Tiago Lopes, Lead Aviation Engineer, European Investment Bank

Session Speaker: Tim Hermes, Senior Business Development Manager, Droniq GmbH

Session Speaker: Severina Grozeva-Patrone, Director of Global Communications & PR, Dronamics

Session Speaker: Luc Antoon, UTM Manager, Skeyes belgiam ATC

15.45pm

Coffee Break

16:15pm 

The Tretheway Debate - 25 Years of EAC

After 25 years of EAC, it is time to stop for a moment and look back. Has the EAC achieved its objectives? Have we contributed to the policy discussion around aviation? Where can researchers make the most to support and guide decision making?

25 years of EAC: regulation, deregulation and re-regulation ? 

Session Chair: Ian Kincaid, Senior VP, Forecasting and Economics at InterVISTAS consulting

Session Speaker: Hans-Martin Niemeier, Professor Director, Bremen University of Applied Sciences 

Session Speaker: Barry Humphreys, Aviation Consultant, BKH Aviation

Session Speaker: 
Session Speaker:

17:00pm 

Concluding Remarks

Opening Keynote of EAC Research Day

Day 3

EAC Research Day

01 December 2023

Agenda to be announced

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