Aviation industry leaders in Beijing

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) 68th IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit will open in Beijing, China on Monday 11 June 2012. The event will bring together some 650 leaders of the global aviation industry for two days of intense discussions on the industrys most important issues.

Oil prices are high, although moderating somewhat from recent peaks. The European sovereign debt crisis is unresolved and we are seeing signs that it is starting to affect Asias export-driven economies. And the largely jobless recovery from the 2008 global financial crisis is proceeding at a glacial pace. Passenger demand is strong, cargo is weak and the industrys profitability remains razor thin, said Tony Tyler, IATAs Director General and CEO.

In March, IATA announced its industry outlook for a $3.0 billion profit on $633 billion in revenues for a net margin of 0.5%. On Monday, the association will revise the outlook taking into consideration the volatility over recent months.

"Beijing is a fitting location for this years AGM," said Tyler. "It is IATAs home in North Asiathe location of our largest regional office and largest billing and settlement office, with 132 million tickets processed in 2011. But even more importantly, China is a great aviation success story. The governments strategy of using aviation to drive economic growth has seen China emerge as an aviation powerhouse."

One-half of the industrys aggregate profits in 2011 were earned by Chinese airlines and three of the worlds 10 largest IATA member airlines by passengers are based there.

China is the second largest airline market in the world with 300 million travelers and industry revenues of $57.6 billion last year. To support further growth, it is in the process of adding 70 new airports between 2011 and 2015 with 97 airports to be built by 2020.

Air China is hosting the event. This is the second time that the AGM will be held in China. The first was in 2002 in Shanghai at the invitation of China Eastern Airlines.