AUSTRALASIA. Carly Povey, Chief Commercial Officer at fast-growing airline Bonza, has been announced as the second keynote speaker for the Australian Airports Association (AAA) Retail & Commercial Forum. The event will be held at the Sofitel Hotel in Brisbane from 17 to 19 July.
Organised by a partnership between the AAA, The Mercurius Group and The Moodie Davitt Report, the Forum brings together all the key players in the airport non-aeronautical revenue sector. These include airports from Australia and New Zealand, duty free and specialty retailers, food & beverage operators, foreign exchange operators, advertising concessionaires, ground transport providers and various advisers and suppliers.
Carly Povey is ambassador for all customer-facing activities at Bonza, including brand, marketing, communication and customer channels, commercial partnerships (airports and government relations), network and scheduling, product and pricing.
She brings extensive global low-cost carrier (LCC) experience from positions across Australia and Europe. She has held senior roles in LCC brands, including easyJet and Jetstar, and is well versed in companies that connect Australia, most recently during her time as General Manager at Australia Post.
Povey’s experience as a member of the start-up team at UK low-cost carrier Jet2.com is relevant in light of Bonza’s own emergence.
During her time there she was pivotal in the airline’s successful bid to launch from UK regions, creating a low-cost alternative that stimulated demand, while delivering on customer experience. She started her career at a UK regional airport and has seen first-hand the positive difference LCC’s can make to local communities.
Commenting on the announcement, AAA Chief Executive James Goodwin said: “We are delighted to have Carly join our event. Bonza is driving a fresh wave of passenger growth across the Eastern seaboard which is particularly important for regional airports, I am sure our members will be very engaged in hearing about Bonza’s plans for the future.”
Carly Povey said: “Bonza’s mission is to connect more Aussies to their backyard than ever before by making air travel more affordable. With 27 routes across 17 destinations, our customers will help us create new tourism opportunities across the country. Once we’re wheels up with our current route map, we’ll be working hard to earn the respect of Aussie travellers to grow our network and introduce new routes to more of Australia.”
The Mercurius Group Managing Director Ivo Favotto said: “Passenger growth is the life blood of the airport retail and commercial sector – the more passengers the more and the better retail and commercial offers that you can sustain. For regional airports, getting enough passengers to sustain additional retail and commercial offers is an opportunity to grow these non-aero revenues, so Bonza is a very welcome addition to the market.”
The Moodie Davitt Report President Dermot Davitt said: “We often strive to have the airline voice heard at our retail and commercial events around the world, so we are delighted to have Bonza join the AAA speaker line-up. We often talk about the commercial Trinity (airports, retailers and brands) but it really is a ‘quaternity’ once we include the voice of the airlines.”
As reported, the first morning keynote will be delivered by Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour at the Queensland University of Technology, who has spent over 25 years working with some of Australia’s largest general merchandise and food retailers and is an active researcher in consumer behaviour and retailing.
The event has had strong partnership support from the airport duty free and food & beverage communities in the region, with more partnerships to be announced shortly.
For further comment or details on the event and for Australasian sponsorship opportunities, please contact:
Ivo Favotto
The Mercurius Group
ifavotto@themercuriusgroup.com
+61 423564057
For international brand sponsorship opportunities please contact:
Irene Revilla: Irene@MoodieDavittReport.com
Sarah Genest: Sarah@MoodieDavittReport.com
Aran Turner: Aran@MoodieDavittReport.com 
