Day 2
Day two of the ERA General Assembly started with the airline and airport CEOs’ breakfast, where senior executives from ERA’s airline and airports as well as ERA’s board met up with trade journalists over coffee and breakfast. The day continued with the CEOs’ meeting, and the morning also hosted the second session of the operations group and the members’ news conferences, where journalists learned about the latest news from GE Aviation, Pratt & Whitney Canada, SuperJet, Embraer, Mitsubishi Regional Aircraft, ATR, Bombardier and AeroCentury.
The first conference session of the day was presented by ERA President Boet Kreiken and ERA Director General Simon McNamara who discussed the state of the industry and ERA’s work and advised on the current issues facing aviation in Europe.
The second conference session, ‘Let’s Talk about Aviation’ panel discussion, featured insight and commentary from Jóhanna á Bergi, CEO, Atlantic Airways; Fatih Akol, Chairman of the Board, Borajet; Pat Byrne, Executive Chairman, CityJet; and Subodh Karnik, CEO, CommutAir.
The ERA’s prestigious annual airline and airport awards, which recognise excellence in the European aviation industry, took place in the evening at the beautiful Palacio del Negralejo. Winners on the night included Binter, which won the Airline of the Year Gold award; Southampton Airport, which was revealed as the winner of the Airport of the Year award; and Jesper Rungholm, CEO of Danish airline Danish Air Transport, who won the ERA Personal Excellence award. ERA member Cityjet scooped the Silver airline of the year award and Flybe the bronze.