On Thursday, October 27, 2022, the BABCPHL hosted the third annual global travel update sponsored by Green and Spiegel, an internationally renowned immigration firm. Keynote speakers, Keith Brune, Interim CEO & COO, Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and Emma Gilthorpe, COO, Heathrow Airport (LHR) headlined the meeting, featuring a panel of experts from the travel, airline, and legal sectors, including: Svetlana Yazovskikh, VP of Global Tourism, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau; Jonathan Grode, US Practice Director and Managing Partner at Green and Spiegel; Rhett Workman, Managing Director – Europe, Middle East & Asia-Pacific, American Airlines; Lakshman Amaranayaka, Vice President of PHL Hub Operations; Philip Dupree, Managing Director of Customer Care, American Airlines; and Gregg Caren, President & CEO, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau.
This timely event focused on travel industry recovery efforts, customer care, sustainable aviation, and what is happening in Philadelphia and around the world as things continue to rebound. The discussion concentrated on air travel, the core of operations throughout the transatlantic corridor and beyond.
PHL and LHR are the backbone for international business and leisure travel, moving passengers and cargo across the Atlantic Ocean and connecting flights throughout the world. In the not-too-distant past, the pandemic-related lockdowns completely upended travel and created a cargo bottleneck. Constantly changing cross-border restrictions and regulations created a chaotic situation. To facilitate smoother operations, in May 2021, PHL and LHR signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to increase collaboration and permit greater engagement towards reinforcing recovery from COVID-19, and the travel industry and global mobility in general have been reacting and evolving since.
Speakers delivered remarks about how the movement of people and goods are facilitating and meeting current business needs. They talked about the strong uptick in business travel this fall, and the forecast for the holiday season. Presenters also addressed how the industry is scaling up to meet demands now and, in the future, as major sporting, convention and city-wide events come to Philadelphia during the next few years. Global visitors and movement throughout the transatlantic corridor positively influence local economic growth, prosperity and visibility.
This annual update was a beacon of encouraging news, highlighting growth and recovery. The BABCPHL was honored to collaborate with our members to deliver this timely, content rich program. Special thanks to our speakers, event sponsor: Green and Spiegel, and partners from the: Chilean, French, German, Irish, and Japan American Chambers of Commerce, in addition to the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia and the World Trade Center of Delaware.
If you missed the event, click here for an on-demand playback recording. The passcode is ih5!#maP.
Click here for speaker bios and here for photos.
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