Over the last three days (11-13 May) nearly 600 of the region’s air service planners and decision makers joined forces in Porto, Portugal, to discuss new and sustainable air services at the 2008 Routes Regional Europe – the annual airline/airport networking forum. Hosted by Porto Airport, the event was the largest Routes Regional Europe to date.

“For us it has been the perfect platform to promote Porto Airport and our region. As the event is exceptionally focussed, we managed to meet many airlines and airports during the three days. I personally think that hosting this event is the best investment you could make to deliver your message. It has been a major opportunity for us and we are very pleased with the outcome,” Carlos Madeira, Vice President of ANA Aeroportos de Portugal SA, the management company of Porto Airport.

Over 60 airlines were represented, including Ryanair, easyJet, Click Air and Norwegian Air Shuttle. The following airports took part: Lyon – Saint Exupery Aeroport, Sofia Airport, Malta International Airport and Munster Osnabruck International Airport, to name but a few. Over 3,000 productive meetings were successfully concluded, many of which are expected to result in new air services.

Jesper Klausholm from Billund Airport commented: “The networking at this year’s event is even better than last year with far more airlines and airports attending. To us it is essential to be here. We want to plant new seeds and then in a few years time the plant will grow. If you don’t attend, you miss out on great opportunities.”

Belle Air goes home with two new routes out of Tirana into Rimini and Naples. CEO Arbi Xhelo on this success: “We came here with the aim to sign up new routes and we achieved what we wanted. Now we will have to bring the routes alive. We are planning to further expand over the next couple of years and hope that our meetings at future Routes events will be equally successful.”

More and more tour operators and tourist boards discover the benefits of attending and join the airlines and airports to leverage on the vast opportunities the event’s formal and informal networking has to offer. “From a tourist board point of view, Routes events are beneficial, as they help to increase the visibility of the destination,” said Filipe Goncalves da Silva, Instituto de Turismo de Portugal. “Attending the event also gives us the chance to get involved in the process of planning new routes, which would improve the accessibility of our region.”

This year ACI Europe co-located its first SMAG ACI Europe Conference with Routes Regional Europe. This SMAG (Small and Medium size airports Action Group) conference focussed on ‘Regional Airports: Strategies to share in the success of smaller airports’. Speakers included Olivier Jankovec, Director General ACI Europe, Gernot Kessler, Directorate General for Energy & Transport, Air Transport – Aviation Safety, European Commission, as well as Jacques Sabourin, Delegue General, UAF, Les Aeroports Francais.

Discussions will be continued at the 14th World Route Development Forum in Kuala Lumpur, 12-14th October 2008. Next year’s Routes Regional Europe will be held in Prague from 17- 19th May.