World Fleet Forum

About World Fleet Forum
The Route Development Group and Insight Media announce the inaugural World Fleet Forum (‘Fleet’) that will be co-located at The Route Development Forum (‘Routes’) in Kuala Lumpur from October 12-14, 2008.
Fleet will bring together the global community of airline fleet, network and schedule planners, airframe and engine manufacturers, finance and leasing companies, technical and support suppliers in one place at one time.

The event will feature:
• A series of private one-to-one meeting sessions between airlines and their industry partners

• A world class conference featuring top industry leaders addressing the key issues affecting the fleet, network and scheduling decisions of airline planners

• VIP access to Routes and the Routes Leaders Forum (‘Leaders’)

The organisers have identified an elite group of companies they wish to involve from the outset as Co-hosts of Fleet. The Co-hosts have been selected from different areas of the airline fleet community and are leaders in their respective areas of manufacture, design and operation.

Co-hosts will receive the following benefits:
• Guaranteed number of private pre-arranged one-to-one meetings between airlines and their industry partners
• CEO invited to speak at Fleet (and Leaders)
• 5 free delegate invitations to Fleet (and Leaders)
• All attendees at Fleet will enjoy free attendance at Routes including entrance to the Routes Networking Village, Welcome Reception, Gala Evening, Lunches and Refreshments
• Exclusive sponsor of either the Fleet delegate folder, lanyards or delegate badges
• Clearly identified as a Co-host on all promotional material

Day One - October 14 2008
Chairman’s Opening Remarks
SECTION 1:
THE NEW AIRCRAFT AND LEASING MARKET

The Aircraft Market and Fleet Investment Landscape Today
• Manufacturers’ orderbook and delivery positions for wide and narrow-body aircraft.
• Quantifying the likely financing and operating lease requirements for the next ten years.
• Macro-economic factors that could well affect the commercial aircraft market and investment landscape during the next ten years.

A Financiers View of The Aircraft Market and Fleet Investment Landscape Today
• How the financial community views the prospects for the aviation sector.
• The appetite of the leading financial institutions to finance airline fleet orders.
• Identifying the types of finance currently available.

Finance Versus Fleet Planning -- Where Airlines’ and Financiers’ Aircraft Selection Preferences Agree and Differ
• When should or shouldn’t an airline decide to become a launch customer?
• Adopting orphans: When should an airline acquire an aircraft model that closely fits the needs of its network, and when should it acquire a less suitable but more widely operated type that is likely to demonstrate better resale value performance?
• Should an airline try to customise its specification or stay with a generic specification when ordering aircraft?
• Should an airline ever specify a low-selling aircraft-engine combination?
• How important are an aircraft model’s life-cycle costs to airlines and investors?

SECTION 2:
THE SECOND HAND AIRCRAFT AND LEASING MARKET

Understanding the Importance of the Second Hand Aircraft Finance and Leasing Market
• How do lease values relate to capital values compared to new or near new aircraft?
• Who are the providers of finance?
• How the economics of old low capital cost, high variable cost aircraft compare to new high capital cost, low variable cost aircraft and what are the sectors in which the older aircraft are economically viable?
• The impact of high fuel prices on older aircraft values and retirement dates.
• How chapters 4 and 5 will impact the marketplace.

Understanding and Maximising the Benefits of Capacity Purchase Agreements (CPA’s)
‘Power By The Hour’ can provide a number of important benefits to airlines including improving the balance sheet, managing and reducing risk and increasing fleet flexibility.
• Why has the success of the CPA in the USA not been replicated in the EU?
• What are the differences in union agreements in the USA v EU that make the CPA work in the USA?
• How does the CPA differ from ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, Insurance)?
• Would the introduction of the CPA to Europe increase regional flying?
• How do CPA economics compare with EU regional fleet costs?

A Financiers View of The Second Hand Aircraft Market and Financing Today
• How does the financial community view the financial prospects for the sector? • What is the appetite of the leading financial institutions to finance second-hand aircraft?
• What type of finance is currently available and to which types of airlines?

END OF DAY ONE

Day Two
SECTION 3:
STRATEGIC PLANNING ISSUES
The Link Between Network Planning and Fleet Planning
• Which Comes First – the Network Plan of the Fleet Plan?
• Network Planning Strategies.
• The Role of Constraints.
• Network Scenario Development, Selection and Optimisation.
• Strategic Fleet Planning.

Environmental and Commercial Impacts: Will Mega-Hub or Point-to-Point Airline Networks and Fleet Plans Prevail?
• Will the mega-hub-and-spoke network be more environmentally acceptable and commercially compelling in future than the point-to-point network?
• Does this dynamic change for intercontinental, regional, international and domestic operations?
• What will be the fleet planning and investing implications of the dominant network shape?
• Are there any other likely impacts of environmental considerations on future network and fleet planning?
• Given the above considerations, will large aircraft such as the A380- and 747-8I or medium-to-large widebody twins such as the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 XWB prove more environmentally acceptable and commercially viable?

How Will The Introduction of New Aircraft Types Impact Route and Network Development?
• A380 and B747-8.
• A350 and B787.
• Bombardier CRJ 700-900 and Embraer 170 - 195.
• VLJ’s.

Panel Discussion:
Freighter Selection, Operation and Investment
• Where does using passenger aircraft belly capacity make sense rather than acquiring dedicated freighter capacity, and vice versa?
• Is operating very large freighter aircraft (such as the 747-8F) necessarily better in an air cargo environment where forward-haul and back-haul trade imbalances exist, or might a medium-to-large-sized aircraft such as the 777-200F be more suitable?
• Will intercontinental and regional trade imbalances increasingly affect air cargo and freighter operations?
• What network, service frequency or service product strategies can airlines adopt to mitigate the effects of forward-haul and back-haul imbalances?
• The economics of the freighter conversion decision:
When it is sensible for an airline either to acquire converted passenger aircraft or convert some of its own?
• When does it make sense to contract the services of an ACMI operator?
• What is the outlook for narrow-body, regional jet and turboprop freighters?

SECTION 4:
OTHER IMPORTANT FLEET PLANNING AND INVESTMENT CONSIDERATIONS
The Impact of Short Term Fleet Assignment on Long Term Fleet Planning
• What is Close-In Re-Fleeting?
• Integrating Schedule-Oriented Roles/Process for Optimum Results.
• Data Requirements.
• Implementation Process.
• Case Study.

Thinking Differently: Novel Airline Network and Fleet Solutions
• Flybe’s use of Bombardier Q400 turboprops to operate a low-fare, low-cost European network.
• Icelandair’s successful development of a mid-Atlantic, transatlantic narrowbody hub – Reykjavik – operated exclusively by narrowbody aircraft.
• Horizon Air’s successful employment of the similar- capacity Bombardier Q400 turboprop and CRJ700 regional jet to operate a regional network throughout a wide geographic region.
• ExpressJet’s decision to operate 44 Embraer ERJ-145 50-seat regional jets on a high-yield, point-to-point scheduled service network linking secondary US destinations.

The Evolution of the Regional Aircraft Market and its Impact on Fleet Planning and Investment
• To what extent are major airlines now using larger regional jets such as the Embraer 170-195 series and Bombardier CRJ700-CRJ900 series to operate
mainline services?
• Will major airlines prefer to operate larger regional aircraft themselves or to have regional subsidiary or franchised carriers operate them?
• Are larger regional jets and/or turboprops suitable for the low-cost airline business model?
• Will airlines be likely to exploit the capacity and performance capabilities of larger regional aircraft by finding entirely new network uses for them?
• Are larger regional aircraft likely to prove more or less attractive to financiers and lessors than smaller regional aircraft?
• Does the advent of the large regional aircraft herald the end of the 50-seat-and-smaller regional aircraft?

Chairman’s Closing Remarks

END OF DAY TWO

For Conference Programme & Registration Enquiries Contact
Emma Dean
Conference & Event Executive
E-mail: [email protected]
Direct line: +44 (0) 208 831 7505

http://www.insightgrp.co.uk/