A host of interesting aviation-related events take place each month. Many of these meet a specific niche and are thus only relevant to a small corner of the industry. Simple Flying decided to look at four events taking place next month that may be of interest to our readers.
March 14th-16th - Arab Aviation Summit
The Arab Aviation Summit will take place in Ras Al Khaimah during the third week of March. The event brings together aviation professionals working in the Middle East, with regional leaders such as the Group CEO of Air Arabia, Airbus' President for Africa and the Middle East, and IATA's regional Vice-President of Africa and the Middle East among confirmed speakers at the event.
This is the tenth year that the conference has been held, and the theme of the agenda is "impactful sustainability in modern-day travel and tourism". Panel discussions, keynote addresses, and workshops will look at how the region can work to decarbonize its aviation industry. The event, for which Simple Flying is a media partner, will also offer networking events allowing new ties to be formed within the region.
Commenting on the event, its Director Frederico Fernandes remarked,
“As a critical meeting point for the industry to discuss collaboration as well as opportunities and challenges to advance the sector, the 10th Arab Aviation Summit is an ideal platform to showcase industry insights and best practices as we move in earnest towards making a tangible commitment to sustainable transformation. At the Summit, leading players will outline scalable solutions that address the key interdependent pillars of the aviation ecosystem to accelerate pathways to a sustainable future.”
March 21st-23rd - Aircraft Cabin Innovation Summit
If aircraft cabins are more your thing, the Aircraft Cabin Innovation Summit is something to look forward to. Hosted at Airbus' Hamburg facility, this event focuses on everything a passenger interacts with inside an aircraft. The conference takes place over three days and is split into two parts.
The first two days of the conference are more traditional, with workshops and talks about how to "create the next generation of cabin experiences". The third day is more hands-on, with a behind-the-scenes look at the Airbus customer definition center and final assembly line. Simple Flying will attend the conference to bring the hot topics to readers.
Commenting on the event, Ingo Wuggetzer, VP of Cabin Marketing at Airbus, remarked,
"“In the coming years there will be many opportunities to innovate and take the passenger experience to the next level... Hosting the RedCabin Aircraft Cabin Innovation Summit at our state-of-the-art facility in Hamburg is a significant opportunity to help facilitate the next generation of cabin experiences alongside fellow aerospace pioneers."
March 28th-April 2nd - Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo
While not aimed at commercial aviation, the Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo is a large annual gathering of general aviation pilots in the United States. The event hosts a daily airshow, which welcomes much smaller aircraft, but also the likes of the Blue Angels.
Those interested in attending the event can arrive by road or air. Standard tickets for an adult cost $45 for a day or $170 for the week. If arriving by road, parking costs from $10 a day, though those with event admission can park aircraft for free. Sun 'n Fun is actually Florida's largest annual convention, with 200,000+ visitors each year.
March 29th - A4E Aviation Summit
Like the Aircraft Cabin Innovation Summit, the A4E Aviation Summit takes place in Europe, though this conference is just a day long and based in Brussels, Belgium. The summit brings together members of the Airlines For Europe organization, with the leaders of Air France-KLM, the Lufthansa Group, TAP Air Portugal, and the Ryanair Group among the planned speakers.
This year's A4E summit looks to address the European aviation industry still recovering from the effects of COVID-19 but also dealing with the impact of the war in Ukraine and an evolving economic environment.
At the 2020 edition of the Summit, Ryanair's Michael O'Leary spoke to Simple Flying about the return of the Boeing 737 MAX, frequent flyer schemes, his interest in the COMAC C919, and how he believed that the spread of COVID-19 would slow after Easter. We now know it didn't, but nobody could've predicted just how bad things would get.
Have we missed an event? Let us know which you're most looking forward to in the comments below!