Highlights from Sir Tim Clark’s Keynote at the 2017 APEX Expo
During my whirlwind trip to LA this weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the first day of the APEX Expo.
The Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) Expo is where thousands of airline executives, bloggers and journalists get together with aircraft manufacturers and service providers to talk everything about the passenger experience.
The opening session saw executives such as Sir Tim Clark (President of Emirates), Robin Hayes (CEO of JetBlue) and many other notable persons take to the stage. Today I’d like to share with you some key highlights from Sir Tim Clark’s keynote Q&S session, which was hosted by the BBC’s Ben Richardson.
Highlights
During the keynote, Sir Tim shared his views that we will see windowless airplanes that feature virtual windows in the future. Windows can cause drag, so without windows he expects planes to be able to fly faster and much higher than ever before. Additionally the long-serving Emirates president and CEO predicted that technology will improve the state of airports as we know them today; citing that “The airports of today, with rare exceptions, are really not up to standard at all”.
Advancements in biometrics should help to accomplish this, something which JetBlue have trialled during boarding over the summer. Airports could change so that when we arrive at the airport, we use a self-service bag drop and then keep walking – even through security. Imagine a time when you don’t have to queue for anything – Sir Tim Clark thinks that this will happen.
My Favourite Quote
“These things are going to come, and people are going to be shocked and stunned, but we have to be ready and brave enough to take those decisions“. – Sir Tim Clark at the opening session for the APEX Expo 25/9/17 Long Beach, CA.
This is one quote which stood out for me when I was in the audience yesterday. Sir Tim also noted how Emirates were brave enough to take such decisions in relation to IFE more than a decade now; and that airlines need to continuously be one step ahead of the competition.
What do you think about Sir Tim Clark’s thoughts? Do you agree or disagree?
