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Queensland Airports Limited (QAL) chief of aviation Adam Rowe, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Australia Pacific, commented (28-Jul-2026) on open skies policies, stating: "Bilateral rights tend to be drip fed". Mr Rowe said bilateral rights are a "scarce resource fought by the four major airports", noting: "It's a resource that should not be scarce, as open skies is the benefit of everyone". He added the difference between an open skies vs a non-open skies market "is really clear".

Newcastle Williamtown Airport executive GM (EGM) Andrew Warrender, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Australia Pacific, stated (28-Jul-2026) "We're quite far from the nearest other airport, so we have to find a way of being different and we're really focused on passenger experience". Mr Warrender said: "We want to be a convenient local airport but it also needs to feel like a major airport in terms of connectivity", noting: "We've thought about every step of the journey".

Intrepid Travel CEO James Thornton, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Australia Pacific, stated (28-Jul-2026) artificial intelligence (AI) "can help any business", noting that Intrepid Travel "already uses AI for our 24/7 chat solution, and we're getting really good results from it". Mr Thornton added: "We find it very good for our sales consultants during the knowledge search stage while serving our customers". For passengers, he said: "AI can play a role in helping you find that destination and have that experience that you want, but once you get there, ideally we want you to get off your phone".

Newcastle Williamtown Airport executive GM (EGM) Andrew Warrender, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Australia Pacific, stated (28-Jul-2026) "We don't have smart gates and we discouraged agency partners from putting them in because we wanted it to be a personal experience". Mr Warrender added: "We wanted passengers to be greeted by a human and we're small enough for that to be possible".

Helloworld COO Cinzia Burnes, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Australia Pacific, stated (28-Jul-2026) major global events impacting travel, such as conflict in the Middle East from early 2026, "actually bring people back to the travel agent", because in moments of uncertainty and stress, many people don't want to rely on a chatbot. Ms Burnes added: "We have seen demand remain pretty resilient" in 2026 despite the conflict and associated fuel price increases.

Flight Centre Travel Group leisure CEO James Kavanagh, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Australia Pacific, stated (28-Jul-2026) "We only saw single digit cancellations" following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East earlier in 2026. Mr Kavanagh said: "There's always a sharp rebound and a sharp recovery of demand from major global events" in recent history, adding: "Once you get a degree of stability, demand starts to come back".