IATA Legal Symposium 2017
Today is March 8th “International Women’s Days” and despite the fact that the presence of women as panelist and as attendees in international conferences is now more evident; there is the need to #BeBoldForChange and to do it fast.
Women are key for the aviation industry and its development. An agenda like the one analyzed in the IATA’s 28th Legal Symposium2017 “LS17” shown it. Those days over 350 aviation lawyers and key role players of the Aviation Industry gathered in Washington D.C. to discuss the following agenda:
● Antitrust and the Aviation Value Chain
● Planes, Trains, Automobiles and Drones?
● The Shifting Security Landscape at Airports after Terrorist Attacks in the Non-Scure Areas
● Unpacking the ICAO CORSIA: A Global Breakthrough for Aviation’s Climate Impact?
● IATA’s Chief Economist’s report on legal and regulatory burdens
● U.S. Update: projections for aviation in the Trump Administration
● Economic Sanctions Update - Opportunities and challenges for Cuba and Iran
● Competition at Capacity-Restricted Airports
● Efficient Transfer of Aircraft – New Regulatory Challenges and Opportunities
● Antitrust Considerations for Codeshares and Other Competitors Collaborations
● Air Travel Distribution: Regulation v. Market Forces
● The shifting security landscape in light of increased threats to airports
● Environmental developments following ICAO meetings - Global MBM?
● Cybersecurity/data protection in aviation
During the conference Carolina Ortiz Espinoza partner of CNLE Law presented to the panel “Competition at Capacity-Restricted Airports” the reality of Latin American jurisdictions in terms of the involvement of authorities in slots assignation.
The panel on Projections for Aviation argued that during Trump’s Administration the industry could take a positive step forward by allowing the airlines to function as a normal business. The panel also talked about the implementation of a US aviation policy that could recognized aviation as one of the most important industries allowing economic growth for the country and a source of job creation.
Consumers were also part of the discussions. They are seeing increasing value as fares fall in real terms meanwhile improving investor’s return above the cost of capital. IATA’s Chief Economist, Brian Pearce pointed out a “remarkable growth” for the industry, as it is likely that Chinese outbound tourism will leap ahead of outbound tourism from Germany or the U.S. He add that even though US carriers seem to be doing well, it is not the same for Latin American and African carriers, as Pierce claims the “Balance sheets are vulnerable because there is a lot of debt out there”.
The panel of Antitrust focused on three main factors: credit card policies, airline distribution, and the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) aftermarket. Ian Giles, Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright stated that “IATA’s purpose is not retribution, but rather to rebalance airline-OEM relationship in order to thrive the competition and lowered airline costs.”
Aviation is a very complex industry yet very interesting and with a huge potential to continue growing. Law is a key part for this industry; on this sense Bary S. Alexander, partner at Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP said “ Technology is moving ahead and the law is getting behind”. Aviation Lawyers must work as strategic partners aligned with all the technological advancement.
We are very pleased for having sponsored this incredible event. CNLE Law is a Cost-efficient, Non-borders law firm that works not only on Legal basis but also with Ethics. We are the strategic partners when doing business in Latin America & Caribbean.
One of our main areas of practice is international aviation. Our team accounts experience, expertise, specialization and certifications within the aviation industry.
Pictures: Pictures from official site of IATA.