CAPE TOWN, Republic of South Africa, 14, April 2011 -- Executives from General Electric's (NYSE: GE) two aviation businesses organized and hosted a three-day summit for executives from 17 African airlines here April 1-3 to discuss opportunities and issues related to growth in the aviation sector.
GE Aviation, a world-leading provider of jet and turboprop engines and avionics, and GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), the aircraft leasing and financing unit of GE, jointly organized and hosted the conference entitled "Shaping the Future of Aviation in Africa." It was the first event of its kind in the region.
"We created an opportunity for GE to pull together the leaders in the African airline industry to discuss growth opportunities and shared challenges," said Jonty Nel, GECAS senior vice president and region manager for Africa.
Sixty-seven executives representing GE and airlines, including senior leaders from Ethiopian Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, and others, attended the invitation-only event.
The group discussed subjects ranging from the current economic environment for airlines and financing opportunities to upcoming technical innovations and trends in maintenance operations. Several airline executives participated in panel discussions and shared best practices with the group. One of those attendees was Dr. Michael Arumemi-Ikhide, CEO, Arik Airlines.
"The thing we hear all the time when we talk about Arik is 'brand new, latest technology, forward looking,'" said Dr. Arumemi-Ikhide. "That is why we like the partnership with GECAS and GE Aviation. They focus exactly on that: robust technology for the future. This is what we feel is important to the West and Central African market."
GE forecasts good growth rates in Africa as global economic conditions improve, the airline industry begins to deregulate in Africa, and more of the continent's population of 1 billion chooses to travel by air. In addition, GE estimates approximately 25 percent of the Western-built narrow body aircraft currently operating in Africa will be retired in the near term.
Currently, GECAS has US$2 billion committed with airlines in 13 different African countries. It finances 76 aircraft, representing approximately six percent of the total fleet in Africa.
"Conferences like this enable our customers and GE to share ideas and thoughts that can help shape the future of the aviation industry in Africa," said Tom Gentile, president and chief executive officer of GE Aviation's Services organization.
"I think it is a very good initiative by GE as we are really discussing very important issues of the sector in the content," said Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian Airways. "It is also important for GE Aviation and GECAS to understand what their customers say about their services and their strategy and their focus on the continent."
About GE Aviation
GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is a world-leading provider of jet and turboprop engines, components and integrated systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings. Follow GE Aviation on Twitter at http://twitter.com/GEAviation and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/GEAviation.
Deb Case
GE Aviation
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1-513-243-0094
1-859-380-8463
Dan Whitney
GE Capital Aviation Services
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203-585-2268
203-300-8707