Connect (aviation forum)

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CONNECT Route Development Forum is a European event aimed at the aviation industry.

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CONNECT background and origins

Michael O'Leary, CEO announces a new Ryanair base in Marseille at the original event, French Connect, in Marseille, 2006, together with Karin Butot, MD of The Airport Agency Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair with Karin Butot, Managing Director of The Airport Agency.jpg
Michael O'Leary, CEO announces a new Ryanair base in Marseille at the original event, French Connect, in Marseille, 2006, together with Karin Butot, MD of The Airport Agency

In 2004, under the name of French Connect, the first event was launched by Alistair Darling, the then UK Secretary of State for Transport and was hosted jointly by Manchester Airport and the recently branded Liverpool John Lennon Airport, which both desired to attract new airlines into their region. [1] Shortly after the first event in Liverpool and Manchester, of the airlines who attended, Wizz Air launched new flights to Liverpool, Jet2.com opened a new base at Manchester and Flybe commenced services to both airports.

Each year, the event, now known as CONNECT, has grown to its present level of 600 delegates, and the event has now been hosted by 15 different international regions from Europe and beyond.

CONNECT (formerly French Connect) was created and has been organised by The Airport Agency [2] since its inception in 2003. [3] The Airport Agency is a marketing communications business with clients including Aéroports de Paris, Bordeaux Airport and Marseille Provence Airport.

Impact on the French aviation market

French Connect was created in 2004 in response to the demand from French airports for a dedicated event that would put them in contact with low-cost carriers. Up to this point, the French market had proved difficult for the low-cost carriers to break into. The event played a part in opening up the French market to the low-cost carriers, witnessed in the development of purpose-built low-cost terminals in France at the likes of Marseille [4] and Bordeaux, [5] and the opening of domestic routes by low-cost carriers (e.g. EasyJet from Bordeaux to Lyon). The event has since broadened its appeal by including politicians, tour operators, suppliers and international guest airports, and has evolved into a larger multinational event and speakers and airline network planners attend from legacy carriers such as British Airways and Air France and airlines and airports from as far as Canada, Cyprus and the Middle East.

French Connect becomes CONNECT

In 2014, after 10 years of growing success, French Connect re-branded and became CONNECT — a brand evolution that reflected the event's appeal to an ever-wider audience. The new name of CONNECT was to convey the event's continuously broadening horizons, whilst maintaining its original and unique formula (unlimited networking, high level conferences and fantastic hospitality) with a single objective: to deliver more opportunities for all attending delegates.

Past event venues and hosts

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References

  1. ↑ "High Hopes for Low Cost Routes". Manchester Evening News. 17 May 2004. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  2. ↑ "The Airport Agency" . Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  3. ↑ "Air Transport News". Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  4. ↑ "MP2 Low Cost Terminal" . Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  5. ↑ "Bordeaux Airport Low Cost Terminal" . Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  6. ↑ "Tarbes Lourdes Aeroport" . Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  7. ↑ "Vatry Airport" . Retrieved 1 January 2013.
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