VOPS 2020 – The Virtual Connect
OPS 2020 started in Dubai in 2017 with a vision to have a forum for key industry players in Aviation Operations to exchange views about their daily challenges. In 2018 we met in Miami and then Berlin in 2019. This year we are going global; OPS 2020 is going to be hosted from around the world – including Bangkok, Singapore, Istanbul, Stockholm, Frankfurt, London, Trivandrum, Berlin, Sydney, Cape Town, Mauritius, Mumbai, Memphis, Montreal – you name it, we are there.
With Covid-19 impacting the world and the related travel restrictions, combined with reductions in discretionary spend, it is not practical to meet face to face. Despite being digitally and technically enabled, physical and financial restrictions should not spoil the opportunity!
In April, we started, the Virtual Happy Hour (VHH), this informal meeting generated great conversations, with international participants from across the aviation industry. The format of the VHH is akin to OPS 2020 and forms part of the Virtual OPS Season, which started on June 24th and will continue until September 24th.
The events are meant to be different, we want the Virtual Happy Hours to be engaging and interesting, while taking into account the various factors around working from home and lockdown, along with juggling commitments at the end of the working day.
The sessions in VOPS 2020 Season will bring together experts in airline operations, crew management and other aspects of flight, crew and hub operations. We also intend to bring on board technology experts from major global airlines, to discuss and deliberate on the trending topics across the aviation industry. The session tend to be between 90-120 minutes and limited to no more than 8-12 participants. This format enables inclusive and in depth-discussion on many topics, for all to enjoy, allowing good collaboration and networking, helping the industry share information and develop best practices.
The inaugural session on 24th June 2020 was an excellent start bringing together Aviation Experts together for a panel discussion that elaborated on Airline Operational Excellence.
The first Aviation Women's Panel was well received.
The next VOPS 2020 Season sessions are:
Airline Pilots Panel, 15th July, 14:00-15:30 Hrs CET (13:00-14:30 Hrs GMT)
2nd Aviation Women's Panel – 23rd July – 14:00-15:30 Hrs CET (13:00-14:30 Hrs GMT)
Digital Airline Operations ASPAC region – 29th July – 9:00 Hrs CET (8:00-9:30 Hrs GMT)
Leaner Airline Operations ASPAC region – 5th August – 9:00 Hrs CET (8:00-9.30 Hrs GMT)
Airline Operations Spirit of Africa – 25th August – 10:00-11:30 Hrs CET (9:00-10:30 Hrs GMT)
Coming up for discussion in future sessions, we will elaborate on the following topics with airline attendees:
- The impact of COVID on airline operations and what is the way forward
- Post Covid Era: Changing Landscape of Operational Regulations & Rules
- Managing Unpredictability in Operations
- Retaining Crew Skills & Training for new staff
- Unpredictable Manpower Demand
- Call for a multi skilled and cross functional workforce : Resource Cross Utilisation & Consolidations
- Post Covid Era: Fleet and Network changes
- Scalingto Higher Demand for Inter-Department Communication
- Need for Higher Cost & KPI Analysis
- The changing Pre-Flight and Post Flight Scenarios
We hope you will enjoy and benefit from VOPS 2020 over the upcoming weeks, do join us and try a new concept and format of airline industry events.
For more information and updates, please visit https://www.ops2020.ibsplc.com/
Daniel Stecher is Vice President of Airline Operations at IBS, and has more than 20 years of experience in the aviation and logistics industries. Prior to joining the IBS family, he was product manager and consultant for the schedule management, operations control and crew management product at Lufthansa Systems. Daniel is perpetually on the move, having raked up literally over a million miles of business travel in his career. He enjoys delicious home cooked food, reading books and the odd round of golf in his spare time.
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