Aviation Future Week: Emirates & the MotF Announce Line-Up & Agenda

Emirates and the Museum of the Future have revealed the details of the curated agenda and speakers set to take the stage at Aviation Future Week, happening from 15-17 October in Dubai.

Aviation Future Week

Adel Al Redha, deputy president and chief operations officer, Emirates Airline said: “We have an incredible line up of over 30 speakers and experts from across aviation and aerospace, airfreight and logistics, Maintenance, Overhaul & Repair (MRO); heavy hitters from different corners of the tech industry as well as academics, reflecting the broad range of topics that Aviation Future Week will cover. Participants can look forward to an agenda that promises to deliver insightful discussions, informative panel sessions and interactive workshops, delving deep into topics that are top of mind for the future of our industry." 

Khalfan Belhoul, chief executive officer at Dubai Future Foundation, said: “Aviation Future Week serves as a pivotal platform to highlight the latest advancements and opportunities within the aviation sector. Both Emirates and the Museum of the Future seek to host global discussions that shape the future of this critical industry. Moreover, this event aims to support the integration of advanced technologies in enhancing service efficiency and craft growth strategies for the aviation sector in both the short and the long term.”

Day 1

Aviation Future Week’s first day spotlights the passenger journey and addresses operational challenges amidst a backdrop of strong global demand. His Excellency Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy will headline the opening, followed by a keynote by His Excellency Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade. Abdel Wahab Teffaha, Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO) Secretary General will then touch on balancing traffic demand with innovative passenger solutions and elevated on ground experiences. The first panel will focus on optimising traffic demand in an environment of saturated airports and constrained supply chains. Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer of flydubai; Adel Al Ali, Chief Executive Officer Air Arabia and Wouter Van Wersch, Executive Vice President of Airbus International will kickstart the dialogue around their long-term vision for air traffic capacity.

Werner Vogels, Amazon’s chief technology officer, will participate in a fireside chat to discuss the company’s approach to automation, biometrics and real-time data, aimed at creating seamless passenger journeys. Airport leaders including HE Khalifa Al Zaffin, executive chairman, Dubai Aviation City Corporation; Ayman AboAbah, CEO Riyadh Airports; Server Aydın, chief digital services and commercial officer at iGA Istanbul Airport; Omar Binadai, chief technology and infrastructure officer at Dubai International and Nicolas Vandable, head of Airline Relations, Projects & Development, director, Smart Airport Programmes at Paris-CDG Airport will tackle the topic of airport infrastructure modernisation and the next wave of future technologies promising a frictionless on ground experience. Participants will hear about the future of aircraft cabins and onboard connectivity and communications from CEOs at Recaro, Thales, Panasonic Avionics and Viasat.

Day 2

The second day of Aviation Future Week will delve into airfreight and logistics and MRO developments in the region. The day will begin with a fireside chat featuring His Excellency Khalfan Belhoul, who will shed light on Dubai Future Foundation’s key role in driving the future of aviation and logistics in Dubai. This will be followed by a focus on the dynamic global landscape of freight and logistics and factors impacting demand, as well as digitisation, to be discussed with Nadeem Sultan, Senior Vice President Cargo Planning & Freighters at Emirates; Ram Menen, founding team member at Emirates SkyCargo and Hamdi Osman, Chairman and CEO Solitaire Group. Confirmed speakers from Rolls Royce, GE Aerospace, Safran Cabin, Jamco and Joramco will also unpack efforts underway around sharpening the precision and effectiveness of MRO in the region through next generation technologies.

Day 3

The third and final day will navigate the nascent potential of Web3, AI and XR to drive workflow efficiencies and optimise service delivery for the industry. The first panel will explore customer feedback strategies using automation and utilising insights to make data-informed decisions with the aim of enhancing service levels. Senior executives leading digital and innovation teams at Avis Budget Group, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Airways and Vision-Box will share how they are scaling up their customer experience strategies. The final panel includes academics at Manchester Metropolitan University, as well as Microsoft Solutions, Whoop and Emirates’ HR leadership who will share their experiences and outline potential use-cases around combining the power of XR and Gen AI to streamline aviation workflows.