Today, on September 13, 2022, Royal Jordanian hosted the ninety-second Executive Committee meeting of the Arab Air Carriers’ Organization in Amman, by kind invitation of Eng. Samer Majali, Vice Chairman and CEO of Royal Jordanian. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Mohamed El-Hout, Chairman of the Board - Director General of Middle East Airlines and Chairman of AACO’s Executive Committee, with the participation of the following members of the Executive Committee: Mr. Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer - Etihad Aviation Group, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, Group Chief Executive - Qatar Airways, Mr. Abdelhamid Addo, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer - Royal Air Maroc, His Excellency Eng. Ibrahim Abdul Rahman Al Omar, Director General- Saudia, and Mr. Khaled Chelly, Chairman and CEO-Tunisair, in addition to AACO’s Secretary General, Mr. Abdul Wahab Teffaha.
The meeting discussed the current state of the industry, including the recovery of the aviation sector and travel demand following the COVID-19 crisis and the time expectations for the sector’s recovery, in addition to the implications of the war in Ukraine on air transport, which mainly affected the operating costs of airlines around the world due to the significant increase in jet fuel prices.
The meeting also focused on several strategic issues; most importantly, aviation and the environment, whereby the Committee affirmed its support for CORSIA-the global system for reducing emissions for international aviation, as the only Market-Based Measure to deal with international aviation’s emissions. In addition, the Committee discussed the latest developments in ICAO in preparation for discussions on the aspirational long-term goal of reducing CO2 emissions for international aviation, which will be discussed at the ICAO General Assembly this month in Montreal. The Committee also raised important principles to facilitate the use of sustainable and low-carbon aviation fuels to reduce aviation emissions.
The Committee dug deeper into digital transformation in enhancing customer relationship management, while looking at the challenges facing airlines in both direct and indirect channels. The Committee directed AACO’s work in enhancing the members' use of innovative technologies that would lead to a comprehensive digital transformation in developing airlines' management of their relationships with customers and enhancing their sales through their direct channels.
The Executive Committee also raised the issue of the danger posed by transporting lithium batteries onboard aircraft inside the baggage of passengers, stressing the importance of having unified standards for all concerned aimed at avoiding accidents or damage that may result from not declaring the presence of this type of batteries inside the baggage.
In the end, the Committee reviewed the latest developments of the current joint projects between AACO members, and some administrative and financial affairs for the organization.
Eng. Samer Al-Majali, Vice Chairman and CEO of Royal Jordanian, expressed his pleasure in hosting the CEOs of Arab airlines, pointing to the importance of such gatherings which build foundations for cooperation between Arab airlines and strategies to protect their common interests. He pointed out that Royal Jordanian has been a member of the Arab Air Carriers’ Organization (AACO) since the year of establishment of AACO in 1965.
Secretary General of the Arab Air Carriers’ Organization, Mr. Abdul Wahab Teffaha, expressed his gratitude to Royal Jordanian for hosting the meeting of the Executive Committee, whose duties include supervising the work of AACO and directing its activities in strategic matters of interest to Arab airlines and the Arab aviation industry as a whole. It also supervises the administrative and financial affairs of AACO, and the joint work among its members in various fields of ground and air services, aircraft maintenance, fuel, distribution, information technology, training and other areas that aim at developing the Arab air transport industry.