The lush acacia trees and beautiful beaches of Maputo Bay set the scene for the first Airline Business Seminar to take place in Mozambique gathering delegates from over ten countries representing airlines, airports, the fuel supply industry, aircraft leasing companies, academia, the media and several consultants. Over two days, prominent speakers and airline officials discussed topics ranging from sustainable business models for Africa to opportunities in the air transport market.

Before a cocktail dinner at Mozambique’s historic Polena Serena Hotel, the afternoon of the first day of events was marked by a flight over the African landscape on board a brand new LAM E190, the 20th to operate on the continent so far.

Speakers and their topics included Marlene Manave, the CEO of Lam Mozambique who talked about lon-term planning in the airline industry; Ehab Ghazi, the Deputy VP of Planning at EgyptAir who talked about challenges of fleet planning during crisis; Dr. John Tambi, transport infrastrucure expert and coordinator for the New Partnership for Africa ́s Development (NEPAD) who gave and overview on Africa’s social and economic advances; and Mbuvi Ngunze, COO of Kenya Airways who spoke about network connectivity.

Africa’s economy is expected to grow well above the world average in the next 20 years leading to a significant growth of air transportation and numerous opportunities for local airlines as well as carriers from other parts of the world.

1. Dr. John Tambi, New Partnership for Africa ́s Development (NEPAD)

2. Ehab Ghazi, Deputy VP of Planning, EgyptAir