Geneva - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that "Aligning for the Future" is the theme of the joint 2024 IATA World Financial Symposium (WFS) and World Passenger Symposium (WPS). The event takes place on 30-31 October 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand. Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) is the host airline for the event.
The customer is the link between the two symposia which will be jointly held for a second year based on the feedback of attendees.
"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. There will be plenty to discuss when the industry meets in Bangkok," said Muhammad Albakri, IATA's Senior Vice President for Financial Settlement and Distribution Services.
"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," said Nick Careen, IATA's Senior Vice President for Operations, Safety and Security.
"THAI is exploring strategies to continuously and sustainably strengthen Bangkok as a leading global aviation hub. In hosting IATA's WFS-WPS, we participate in showcasing the travel industry and its many positive impacts and potentials. Precisely because of aviation's connectivity, Thailand has become known as a great place to meet. We look forward to intense discussions and sharing of experiences among the participants; the conclusions of which will underpin aviation's future growth and development," said Chai Eamsiri, THAI Chief Executive Officer.
Speakers and Sessions
Four session tracks at the WFS-WPS will address (1) Passenger Experience and Accessibility, (2) Airline Retailing – Transforming to Offers and Orders, (3) Airline Retailing – Payment and Finance to Order, and (4) Artificial Intelligence – A New Ally to Finance.
The speakers participating in the joint WFS-WPS include:
- Marie Owens Thomsen, Senior Vice President for Sustainability and Chief Economist, IATA
- Charlotte Lim, Head of Travel Services Transformation, Customer Experience and Design, Cathay Pacific Airways
- Siddharth Sharma, Head IT Operations, Digi Yatra Foundation
- Tamur Goudarzi Pour, Head of Customer Excellence Taskforce, Lufthansa Group
- Amit Khandelwal, Divisional Vice President, Emirates and Chair of IATA's Distribution Advisory Council
- Satya Ramaswamy, Chief Digital and Technology Officer, Air India
- Michael Doersam, Chief Financial and Group Services Officer, Emirates and member of IATA's Industry Financial Advisory Council Steering Group
- Christine Rovelli, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Fleet, Finnair
- Mohamad Hafidz Mohd Fadzil, Chief Fintech Officer, AirAsia Supper App.
- Stanislav Bondarenko, Founder, Swifty
- Craig Jeffery, Managing Partner, Strategic Treasurer
> View the program and speakers (pdf)
