The International Air Transport Association (IATA) formally kicks off two major events today, 30th October, at the Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld in Bangkok, Thailand.

The joint IATA World Financial Symposium and IATA World Passenger Symposium event which covers 30th and 31st October is where airline retailing, finance, and passenger experience unite to create a dynamic platform for strategic exploration, actionable insights, and transformative innovation.  

The World Financial Symposium (WFS) centres on the financial wellbeing and overal sustainability of airlines in the 21st century. That said, the event will offer both plenary sessions as well as specialised stream discussions regarding relevant topics in the field of airline finance.

On the other hand, World Passenger Symposium (WPS) combines the former Digital and Data and Retailing Symposium, the Global Airport and Passenger Symposium and the Accessibility Symposium into a single event to reflect the importance and connectedness of all three elements to the customer experience.

The customer is the link between the two symposia which will be jointly held for a second year based on the feedback of attendees.

A great deal to discuss

Muhammad Albakri, IATA’s senior vice-president for financial settlement and distribution services, said of the event: “There will be plenty to discuss when the industry meets in Bangkok. By aligning on how the industry addresses new opportunities for airline retailing, finance, facilitation, accessibility, and passenger experience, we have enormous potential to make our customers even more satisfied with their travel experience. From ticket purchase to arrival at destination, there is tremendous potential for change, in particular as we progress with digitalization across the business.”

IATA senior vice-president for operations, safety, and security Nick Careen added: “There are several highlights for this year’s joint WFS and WPS. We will discuss what passengers are telling us about their travel experience and preferences in the latest Global Passenger Survey (GPS). We will also explore what a truly digital, seamless, inclusive, and accessible customer-centric travel experience will look like in an integrated journey proof of concept that will demonstrate the progress made over the last year.”

A timely venue

The choice of Bangkok as the venue for this year’s joint symposium is a timely one, given how the Thai capital continues to strengthen itself to become one of the world’s leading aviation hubs.

According to Thai Airways chief executive Chai Eamsiri: “In response to the market’s rapid recovery and increasing travel demands, [we aim] to explore all possible sustainable strategies to further strengthen “Bangkok” as one of the leading global aviation hubs. This meeting would be a showcase to enhance [our] positive contribution for the travel industry. At this meeting, we are all gathered so that we can share ideas and experiences to ensure future development and growth of air travel while having a platform where we can seek a common approach and mechanism in enhancing airline industry and business in greater detail.”