Glenn Wicks, Managing Director of The Wicks Group, PLLC, served as the chairman of the Caspian Air Cargo Summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, October 10-12, 2011.
The Caspian Air Cargo Summit is the largest and most comprehensive aviation event in the region, bringing the international air cargo market leaders to Baku. Speakers and delegates at the conference discussed the latest global aviation developments with a focus on CIS countries/Central Asia and the region’s growing significance in the global aviation industry. This was the fourth Caspian Air Cargo Summit held in Baku, demonstrating the importance of Baku as a regional and global hub.
Mr. Wicks opened the plenary session of the conference following an introduction from Lars Gunnar-Comen, the head of Euroavia International. Arif Mammadov, Director General of the State Civil Aviation Administration of Azerbaijan (SCAA), also welcomed delegates and provided an update on the continuing development of the country’s aviation sector.
The Director General also highlighted the role of The Wicks Group in providing technical assistance to the SCAA that will assist Azerbaijan in meeting International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards in the areas of aviation safety and security oversight, thereby creating opportunities for U.S. exports of U.S. manufactured goods and services. The project is funded in part by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.
Michael Steen, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Atlas Air & Chairman, The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA), provided the key note address and highlighted the expanding and critical role of air cargo in the global economy.
Robert Van de Weg, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Cargolux, addressed the conference to discuss the big picture outlook on the global status of the air cargo market. Christian Meyer of Lufthansa Consulting discussed solutions for allotment management.
Other speakers included Thomas Crabtree, Regional Director Marketing- Air Cargo, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, who discussed the market outlook for Russia/Central Asia/CIS regions and Wolfgang Meyer of AirBridgeCargo Airlines who spoke on the outlook for the Europe-Asia trade lane.
Victor V. Livanov, Director General-General Designer, United Aircraft Corporation - Ilyushin Aviation Complex also addressed the conference. Mr. Livanov outlined the latest developments in aircraft manufacturing in Russia, including the new IL-76 freighter.
The Caspian Air Cargo Summit was organized by Silk Way Airlines and Euroavia International. It brought together more than 200 representatives from more than 20 countries. Other delegates included Katya Grimes and Ronce Almond of The Wicks Group and U.S. Colonel Daniel Grillon, Defense Attache at the U.S. Embassy in Baku.
The occasion also marked the 10 year anniversary of the founding of Silk Way. Over the past 10 years, Silk Way has extensive experience with establishing regular service into areas not serviced by scheduled flights. In 2010 itself Silk Way performed over 1600 flights into Afghanistan on L-76TD and An-12 a/c types, in cooperation with U.S. TRANSCOM and as a critical support to U.S. and NATO missions in the country.
With the recent delivery of B747 freighters, Silk Way is capable of regular cargo services and open long haul flights between the continents. Silk Way will be adding two more Boeing 767-300F planned to deliver in year 2012.
Glenn Wicks regularly chairs and speaks at international aviation conferences, including chairing the 2010 and 2011 Afghanistan Air Cargo and Logistics Conference in Istanbul, Turkey, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, respectively. The Wicks Group is multi-disciplinary firm that provides specialized legal and consulting services to clients with aviation and transportation related interests world-wide. For more information on The Wicks Group
please visit www.wicks-group.com.