Largest Routes Americas Event Ever to Open in Denver

Record numbers of route development professionals flock to Denver for the largest commercial aviation event for the entire Americas region 

MANCHESTER, England, Jan. 29, 2015 /CNW/ - Routes Americas, now in its 8^th year, will see a record number of attendees when the 2015 event opens in Denver, Colorado in three days time, marking the first time that the event has been held in the United States. The event, which will take place from 1 to 3 February 2015, will bring together leading airports, airlines, tourism authorities, policy-makers and other aviation stakeholders to develop new air services to, from and within the Americas.

Hosted by Denver International Airport, supported by Visit Denver, Metro Denver EDC, State of Colorado, InterVISTAS and Colorado Ski Country USA, Routes Americas 2015 is expected to see representation from over 80 airlines, 275 airports and almost 40 tourism authorities along with a number of other industry stakeholders from across the Americas to discuss air service development. In total the event will see over 650 route development professionals in attendance which equates to around 40% year on year growth for the largest route development event for the entire Americas.

"I want to wish Routes Americas conference attendees a 'Mile High' welcome to our great city," said Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock. "We are looking forward to seeing some familiar faces in the aviation industry as well as building relationships with new partners from around the world. Colorado has a strong economy, and it is an important goal for us to continue to expand Denver's global connectivity."

"This conference provides Denver International Airport a unique opportunity to showcase Denver and the Rocky Mountain region to aviation professionals from around the world," said Denver International Airport CEO Kim Day. "We are proud to be the first U.S. city to host this very significant global aviation conference."

"Routes Americas has attracted over 650 delegates this year from across North America and Latin Americas & Caribbean, representing 40% growth," said Katie Bland, Director Routes for UBM EMEA continuing: "This growth is beyond our expectations and I'd like to thank our host, Denver International Airport, and partners for hosting this year's event and for their excellent collaboration with our team to deliver a record event".

The event attracts the highest level of senior decision makers and the region's leading airlines will be represented by senior delegations in Denver including all three major US Carriers; Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines, the latter two of which will attend with a large number of representatives. In addition Canada's two largest airlines, WestJet and Air Canada will return to the event after a year's absence.

This year's event will also see a large number of carriers attending for the first time including AZUL, Frontier Airlines, Virgin America, SkyWest and tour operators Apple Vacations and Aventura 2000. Out of region airlines will also be well represented in Denver with representatives from 28 carriers confirmed including Air China, Lufthansa Group (also representing Swiss International, Austrian and Brussels Airlines), British Airways, Thomas Cook Airlines Group, Ethiopian Airlines and China Southern amongst others.

The event has also seen significant growth from airports and tourism authorities with 99 airports attending the event for the first time including Queretaro Intercontinental Airport, Aeroporto Internacional de Confins, Will Rogers World Airport, North Central West Virginia Airport, Düsseldorf Airport and Dublin Airport. Tourism authorities which are new to the event this year include Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority and Explore Fairbanks which have contributed to the 48% increase in attendance from this sector of the industry.

The event will open on Sunday 1^st February at 12:30 with the Routes Americas Strategy Summit where attendees will hear a keynote address from John Byerly, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, U.S. State Department. A number of moderator led panel discussions, involving many high level industry thought leaders, will then address key air service development issues affecting commercial aviation across the entire Americas region.

Notes to Editors 

About Routes 

• Routes organises world-renowned airline and airport networking events through its regional and global Route Development Forums. Each year, there is one global event and one regional event in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas and CIS respectively. http://www.routesonline.com
  
• Routes was founded in 1995 as part of the Manchester UKbased ASM Ltd., a consultancy specialising in the field of route development for airports. http://www.asm-global.com. Routes and ASM are part of the UBM EMEA division of UBM plc.
  
• UBM EMEA connects people and creates opportunities for companies across five continents to develop new business, meet customers, launch new products, promote their brands and expand their markets.  Through premiere brands such as MD&M, CPhI, IFSEC, TFM&A, Cruise Shipping Miami, the Concrete Show, the Routes portfolio of events, Airport Cities and many others, UBM EMEA exhibitions, conferences, awards programs, publications, websites and training and certification programs are an integral part of the marketing plans of companies across more than 20 industry sectors.

Follow us on twitter: @Routesonline, @TheHUBRoutes, @VictoriaRoutes, @NLPROU, @airlineroute

About UBM plc 

• UBM plc is a global events-led marketing services and communications company.  We help businesses do business, bringing the world's buyers and sellers together at events and online, as well as producing and distributing news and specialist content.  Our 5,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into expert teams which serve commercial and professional communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.
  
• For more information, go to http://www.ubm.com; follow us on Twitter at @UBM_plc to get the latest UBM corporate news; follow @UBM for news from all UBM's businesses; follow @UBM for a flavour of UBM from selected members of UBM's Twitterati.

SOURCE UBM Live Routes Ltd