AirIT announced that the company’s 18th Annual User Conference & Symposium drew more than 220 attendees from April 25-27, 2016, a 17 percent increase in attendance over 2015.
This year’s attendees represented 37 different airport and seaport organizations and 14 different airline companies. Program content included case studies from AirIT’s airport technology partners, including Miami International Airport and Vancouver International Airport, as well as a general session focused on AirIT’s "Airport Technology Convergence Platform."
The conference keynote address was delivered by Bob Montgomery, vice president of airport affairs for Southwest Airlines. Montgomery has been with Southwest since 1977, and is currently responsible for the acquisition and development of all of the carrier’s facilities nationwide. Additionally, he is responsible for representing Southwest to all airport operators and city, county and state governments, and works with them to develop their capital and operating budgets, as well as development programs.
The theme of Montgomery’s keynote address was "Airlines @ Airports: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow." A key take-away from his presentation was the request that technology vendors “Size the solution to the size of the problem.” He added that AirIT enjoys a rich history of listening to the industry to define problems, and addressing them with effective solutions.
Comments Betros Wakim, AirIT chief executive officer, “The year-over-year growth we have realized at our annual user event continues to validate and invigorate the innovative work we do at AirIT. However, it means nothing if we cannot get candid and critical feedback from our user base, and that is what makes the AirIT Annual User Conference and Symposium so important, not only for our users, but for AirIT as well. We are extremely proud to be a part of this great community.”
