Peter Harbison, Executive Chairman, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation

Q: What are the three things you think will happen in the airline space in 2011?
• A return of (too much) capacity into the market
• Higher fuel prices
• Aggressive expansion by LCCs/non-flag carriers

Q: What are the three things airlines should invest in the new year?
• IT ( but intelligently)
• Joint venture expansion
• FFPs

Q: What are your predictions for airline distribution and marketing next year?
• Increased verbal battles with GDSs
• (hopefully) progress towards easier connectivity

Q: Which airlines are the ones to watch next year in Asia Pacific, and why?
Garuda – IPO
PAL – survival?
JAL – recovery?
AirAsia again
Air China
Skymark
Cebu Pacific
Lion Air

Q: Three important events that happened this year that you think will have significant impact on travel in the future.
• European airline mergers and anti-trust immunity entrenching the leaders of global alliances
• The GFC, in accelerating the gap between Asia Pacific growth and almost the rest of the world
• Air NZ’s cuddle class seats

Q: Most over-used word of 2010?
Recovery

Q: Most under-estimated word of 2010?
(Delivery) delay

Q: What word will disappear from the airline vocabulary?
Hopefully – the same one

Q: As the year winds to an end, what will you remember most about 2010?
Australia beating New Zealand with the last kick of the game in Hong Kong

Q: What are you most looking forward to in 2011?
Australia winning the Rugby World Cup (and not travelling so much)

Timothy O’Neil Dunne, Managing Partner, T2 Impact 

Q: What are the three things you think will happen in the airline space in 2011? 
1. More “inner” alliances with anti trust immunity
2. More unbundling of the product and personalization offerings
3. Less and less competition on long haul
And a question you didn’t ask but I will answer – a major “event” that will impact the airline industry.

Q: What are the three things airlines should invest in in the new year? 
1. More service technology
2. More connectivity options to envelope the customer.
3. Security Systems

Q: What are your predictions for airline distribution and marketing next year? 
Someone will wake up one morning and realize that there isn’t a need to worry so much about choice. With three global alliances, why should they? There will be more direct connects and more airlines looking to improve their relationships with the customer through the intermediary channel. BUT the Travel Agents will have to work for it.
Airline marketing will move away from overt basic branding and display to more online and real time customer marketing.
Oh yes and the customer will not necessarily believe the airlines… that is not changing.

Q: Which airlines are the ones to watch next year, and why? 
Air Asia – expanding the franchise and in particular forming alliances in certain European destinations. They will also fly across the Pacific or announce it before the end of 2011
Chinese Airlines will start to flex their muscles and make more international noise.
Qantas will convert more routes to Jetstar but there will be co-opertition with the 2 sisters.
Look for the Indian Airlines to come eastward now they can compete

Q: Three important events that happened this year that you think will have significant impact on travel in the future.
AA vs Travelport and Orbitz. The shape of things to come
Google ITA impact on search and value finding
Retirement of Tony Tyler will make Cathay Pacific a different airline. More Chinese.

Q: Most over-used word of 2010?
Search

Q: Most under-estimated word of 2010?
Find

Q: What word will disappear from the airline vocabulary?
Magstripe

Q: As the year winds to an end, what will you remember most about 2010?
A tough year

Q: What are you most looking forward to in 2011?
A rational approach to decision making and a more realistic view of the quality of data.

Hans Belle, Vice, President and General Manager, Sabre Travel Network, Asia Pacific

Q: What are the three things you think will happen in the airline space in 2011?
• Continued mergers, consolidation
• Continued growth of China aviation market and North African marketplace
• Improved recognition of making product, service offering consistent across all consumer shopping channels- by enabling customers to choose the level of product that suits them for each leg of their journey whether they are flying for business, leisure,short haul or long haul. â�¨

Q: What are your predictions for airline distribution and marketing next year?
Anticipate a good year, as more and more carriers partner with us to maximize revenue and yield growth opportunities.

Q: Which airlines are the ones to watch next year, and why?
There is a lot of activity in the Middle East with technology and business transformation, so those airlines should be points of interest. The airlines in China joining alliances and looking at service and global reach strategies.

Q: Three important events that happened this year that you think will have significant impact on travel in the future.
• Mobile trends became “eventful” re-emerged and mobile being taken more seriously
• Further economic recovery
• Continued Online Travel Agency and Corporate booking tool growth

Q: Most over-used word of 2010?
“Leading” – as the economy recovers and technology and business solution providers duke it out – everyone claims to be the leader

Q: Most under-estimated word of 2010?
Collaboration – again, everyone is talking collaboration, yet the true possibilities across our industry – to make it better – are in their infancy

Q: What word will disappear from the airline vocabulary? 
My wish – Lost Bag and Cancelled flights. Just plain bad luck I know, but I have had my fair share of lost bags and cancelled flights the last year or two.

Q: As the year winds to an end, what will you remember most about 2010? 
What a talented and supportive team I have to work with across APAC, and the entire Sabre global Family

Q: What are you most looking forward to in 2011?
A quick vacation, delighting our customers, seeing my team members grow, being a Web In Travel 2011 panelist.

Featured image credit (Airplanes flying around the globe. Travel concept): Ockra/iStock