China International Aviation Conference

A Major Annual International Conference Is Now Established

The Armbrust Aviation Group / China National Aviation Fuel

China National Convention Center, Beijing

Including Sino-US Business & Forecast Path-Finding Sessions
By Boyd Group International

April 4-6, nearly 1,000 attendees gained enormous insights to emerging trends in the global and Asian aviation industries from distinguished leaders from all areas, including Minster Li Jixiang, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, and Mr. Sun Li, Chairman of the China National Aviation Fuel Group. Key executives from ICAO, IATA, plus executives from Shell, Exxon/Mobile, BP, made key presentations.

Message: China Is The New Center of Aviation Growth & Technology. The Path-Finding presentations from Boyd Group International covered the shift in aviation planning, technology focus, and investment from the US and the EU, where growth is now fully matured, to Asia and China, where expansion will be in full motion for the next three decades.

Included were fleet projections for the region, and a review of the emerging need for US hub airports to focus on developing into Global Portals to flow passengers and goods between Latin America and Asia. The transformation of airline alliances from loose federations of carriers into global brands was also detailed.

US-Style Hubbing: Going Global. One of the future trends that needs to be recognized and planned for is the increase in focus on aggregating passengers over Global Portals - i.e., intercontinental connecting hubs. The trend toward growth in more "super long-haul" flying has been largely torpedoed by fuel costs. "At US 90 cents and above per liter, the expense of uplifting an additional 250,000 kilos of fuel simply to fly nonstop from Delhi to JFK now can outweigh the costs of flowing the traffic over an intermediate alliance hub," Boyd Group International President Mike Boyd noted to conference attendees.

In addition to the potential for traffic from the Americas to Asia, additional Global Portals also will be established to flow traffic between Australia and South Asia to Europe, an example being Guangzhou, where China Southern is building connecting operations.

The event was held at the China National Conference Center, adjacent to the Olympic Park in Beijing.

An announcement will be made later this summer regarding the venue of the 2013 China Aviation Fuel Conference.

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