Future Travel Experience (FTE) and the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) have jointly announced plans to launch FTE APEX Virtual Expo – a first-of-its-kind virtual trade show for the air transport industry, which will take place on December 8 and 9 for 24-hours a day to accommodate all time zones.

 

This pioneering online event will include a free-to-attend, interactive online exhibition with live product demos, virtual conference sessions with content tailored to the Asia-Pacific, EMEA and Americas regions, and extensive networking capabilities that will enable attendees to network in real-time via messaging and video calls. All of these features will be available on two live show days – December 8 and 9 – and delegates will then be able to revisit the exhibition hall and conference sessions for a period of 30 days. The theme of the event is “Transforming air transport post-COVID-19”.

 

The virtual exhibition will include ‘Airport’ and ‘Inflight’ halls as well as a dedicated ‘Startup Zone’. FTE and APEX anticipate that the event will attract 8,000-plus online attendees.

 

Future Travel Experience Founder and CEO Daniel Coleman said: “It is clear that our industry is just not in a position to meet in person in 2020, but FTE and APEX are delighted to stage a ground-breaking, interactive global online air transport industry trade show. FTE APEX Virtual Expo will replace the in-person events that both organisations had planned to stage towards the end of the year."

 

“We are incredibly excited to host this truly dynamic and global virtual event, and we are looking forward to offering much more than straightforward webinars, which have become commonplace in recent months. The industry wants more than that now and FTE APEX Virtual Expo will provide the sector with a large-scale digital trade show that will creatively offer real engagement, networking and business development opportunities for everyone involved.”

 

APEX/IFSA CEO Dr. Joe Leader commented: “FTE APEX Virtual Expo will act as a beacon for our industry’s recovery and bring global stakeholders together en masse to inspire one another. As we polled our airline and valued supplier members worldwide, we discovered key aspects that will most help our industry. Our stakeholders want to connect and engage to share ideas, propositions, visions and learnings."

 

“This announcement also marks another important milestone in the integration efforts between APEX and FTE. It’s a great example of maximising the strengths of both organisations. The entrepreneurial and dynamic nature of FTE enabled us to pivot to a virtual event faster than we thought possible. Our ambition is to deliver a unified approach and increase the value the association provides to the entire air transport industry, both in the air and on the ground.”

 

FTE APEX Virtual Expo has already received a number of messages of support from across the industry, including senior figures from the likes of AirAsia, Pittsburgh International Airport, easyJet, Japan Airlines, Bengaluru International Airport, Port of Seattle and Viva Air Labs. - TradeArabia News Service