Clear on the priorities 

The beginning of July always signals the change of the EU Presidency and on this occasion, from July 2023, it also includes the next trio of countries to lead the European agenda. From July, Spain, for the fifth time, will lead the EU followed by Belgium from January 2024 and Hungary from July 2024.

The Spanish Presidency’s agenda and main lines of action for transport will be: to align the policies of the main international transport organisations, such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) with those of the European Union; to seek to achieve progress in negotiations with the European Parliament (EP) on revising the regulation of the TransEuropean Transport Network (TEN-T) and the Single European Sky (SES2+) initiative; and to step up the Council’s efforts regarding the Greening Transport Package, which gives continuity to the Fit for 55 (Ff55) initiatives. You can read a detailed summary by DeHavilland EU on page 6 [1] of the magazine or see the Presidency’s full programme online here [2].

ERA General Assembly

The year’s main members’ meeting, the annual ERA General Assembly, will take place in Innsbruck, Austria; a truly regional location that we last visited back in the early 1990s. This event is exclusive to ERA members only, a major benefit of your ERA membership. With an extensive exhibition environment – the hub for all networking functions, informative and thought-provoking leadership conference sessions, varied social events, the association’s AGM, and the prestigious awards dinner to name but a few items, the ERA General Assembly’s agenda will suit all our members’ needs. Taking place against the backdrop of the Alps, this year’s event is sure to provide an exciting and worthwhile opportunity to come together as one association. Members can register to attend the event at https://www.eraa.org/events/era-general-assembly-2023/registration [3] and can read more in this issue, including details of our speakers and panellists, on pages 9–11 [4].

Retaining and developing skills and staff

In a recent survey to ERA’s airline members and Board members, one of the questions included ‘what are you doing to retain and develop skills and staff?’. With the critical issue of skills shortages continuing to be a major concern for the industry, the results from this particular question provided an interesting overview. Key results highlighted that training was the top answer, closely followed by salary increases. In addition to other key actions, such as balanced work patterns; corporate vision, culture, atmosphere, and pride; together with careers versus jobs, other major considerations included: the IATA 25by2025 initiative, non-salary benefits, sharing best practice, employee engagement policies and activities, apprenticeships, interesting jobs, internal promotion, promoting organic growth, and refocussing on aviation and staff internship between ERA airlines.

Training and Skills Workshop (at the General Assembly)

In line with the key themes of this Training and Skills edition of Regional International, taking place at this year’s General Assembly will be a separate morning workshop, focussed on the pertinent issue of skills shortages. As mentioned above, skill shortages are a key priority for our members and a matter of great concern for our industry’s future growth and prosperity. Attendance at this workshop can be booked during the main General Assembly registration process on our website.

Mid-year meeting in Luxembourg

This year’s mid-year Board meeting was hosted by ERA member Luxair in Luxembourg, providing an excellent opportunity for ERA’s Board members to meet to continue its discussions on ERA’s strategic priorities, as well as key focusses for the industry and association. ERA Board members were honoured to visit the European Court of Justice (ECJ) providing a historical opportunity to exchange our views and to better understand the reasoning of the ECJ. ERA Board meetings are essential to the smooth running of the association, the implementation of its strategy and provide valuable feedback and support to me and the ERA Team. The next ERA Board meeting will take place during the ERA General Assembly.

Membership commitment continues

As we are now past the halfway point in 2023; I would like to express my thanks to all our members for their continued support and commitment to the association and to welcome those new members who have joined us so far this year, including Air Serbia, Avation, Cobham Aerospace Communications, ICARE, Besso Insurance, VeeOne, Rockton Vision, Magpie Aviation, XINATIS, AMS Aircraft Services, Avico, Altair Advisory, T-C-Alliance, ATR Maintenance, ICTS Europe Systems and Kiu System Solutions. The power of one collective voice, representing multiple businesses, to promote and protect one industry sector is incredibly strong and has never been more important.