09.10.2007
Copenhagen Airport in the battle for new routes

Copenhagen Airport is holding meetings with 55 airlines at the world's largest aviation conference: Routes – The World Route Development Forum.

With 55 meetings with airlines from all over the world, Copenhagen Airports is exerting every effort to obtain new routes for the airport. The meetings are being held at the world's largest meeting forum for aviation industry decision-makers: Routes, the World Route Development Forum, held in Stockholm on 23-25 September this year.

Copenhagen Airports has sent a delegation of ten to the Routes conference, where 750 airports serenade 350 airlines with proposals for new routes and business opportunities. In addition to discussing potential new flight connections to Copenhagen with airlines from Asia, Europe, Africa, the USA and the Middle East, Copenhagen Airports staff are also running an extensive marketing campaign at the conference.

During the breaks in the intensive Routes programme, which includes 28,000 meetings held over the course of two days, many conference delegates drop by the Copenhagen Airports exhibition lounge, where they can obtain more information on the largest airport in Scandinavia.

2300 attendees at this year's Routes

The number of airports and airlines represented at Routes has grown tenfold over the past decade: this year's more than 2300 attendees make it the biggest Routes conference ever.

The growing interest in Routes reflects the increase in competition between airports that has been the result of recent years' liberalisation of the aviation market. Today, new routes do not just appear out of thin air. "Airports have to do a great deal of meticulous work in analysis, sales and marketing to draw new airlines and routes," said Corinna Lundbæk Pedersen, director for airline relations at Copenhagen Airports A/S.

She added that Copenhagen Airport today is not only in competition for routes with the other major Scandinavian airports, but also airports all over northern Europe.

Route development: Long-term effort

Work to establish new flight connections to and from Copenhagen is a constant effort that requires year-round contact between the airport and various airlines. The Routes conference is the annual culmination of this process. Since route planning is long-term work, it typically takes one to two years after the presentation by Copenhagen Airport of a specific route proposal before a route can – perhaps – be realised.

Copenhagen Airport hosted Routes in 2005, which helped promote Copenhagen and the Scandinavian market to the airlines.

Copenhagen Airports Head of Cargo Lars Korup and route developer Christian Nakskov Pedersen meet with an airline representative at Routes.

 

 

 

 

How Routes works
Routes is the world's largest gathering of aviation industry decision-makers.

At the heart of Routes are the 28 thousand 20-minute-long meetings that representatives of airports and airlines have set up in advance.

The 20-minute time frame for every meeting is strictly observed, with speakers in the huge meeting halls marking times for meetings to begin and end.

At these meetings, airport route developers suggest specific route plans for the airline they are meeting with, plans based on analyses and familiarity with the local market.

In addition to the formal meetings, Routes also features an extensive range of informal meetings, exhibitions, presentations and social events.

This year's Routes by numbers
350 airlines
750 airports
2300 attendees
28,000 meetings