AIRLINES’ ‘BLANK SHEET OF PAPER’ MOMENT IS BIGGEST OPPORTUNITY FOR A GENERATION

Airlines have a once in a generation opportunity to restructure, innovate and expand, said James Hogan today in a keynote address to the Global Aerospace Summit in Abu Dhabi.

“The global pandemic has been the biggest systemic shock in the history of aviation,” he said. “But that does give a unique opportunity for airlines that can move fast to respond to the situation.

“Smart operators will treat this as a ‘blank sheet of paper’ moment, looking to reinvent processes, products and mind-sets.  There is a huge opportunity in front of us for airlines to create a golden age of innovation and service.”

Speaking on the topic of ‘The renewal of the commercial aviation sector’, Mr Hogan identified five levers that can re-shape the future of aviation.  They include:

• Fundamental deregulation to bring open skies to more global markets, allowing greater competition, improved commercial operations and consolidation across the sector.
• The blank sheet of paper, allowing airlines to restructure according to customer needs and market dynamics, not legacy systems and mind-sets.
• Innovation, using latest technology to identify new processes and revenue streams.
• New models of employee engagement, as airlines rebuild their staffing levels post pandemic.
• The need to accelerate the industry’s response to climate change pressures, using technology to identify new solutions to improve environmental performance.

“The airlines that use these levers will be the winners of the coming decades.  Make no mistake: aviation is a hugely resilient industry and will recover from this systemic shock as it always has before.  In previous recoveries – from 9/11, SARS and so on – there have always been winners that used the crisis to surge ahead.  We’re about to see those winners emerge this time – and they will be the airlines that take advantage of the blank sheet of paper moment.”