More than 30 Airlines Confirmed to Attend ALTA's 2008 Aviation Crisis Preparedness Conference

MIAMI, July 30 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 70 top-level executives representing more than 30 airlines have already registered for ALTA's upcoming Aviation Crisis Preparedness Conference and Aviation Law Americas Conference taking place September 10-12, 2008, in Miami.

A limited number of spaces are available for registration, and information on sponsorship opportunities is available at www.alta.aero/crisispreparedness.

ALTA's Aviation Crisis Preparedness Conference is designed to educate and arm executives with the crucial tools and information necessary to prepare and implement crisis preparedness plans specific to the aviation industry.

"This is a must-attend conference for anyone associated with aviation industry crisis preparedness, crisis management and crisis response efforts," said ALTA Executive Director Alex de Gunten. "We as an industry must be prepared to effectively respond to and manage a vast array of crisis situations. After all, it's not a matter of IF a crisis will occur, but WHEN."

More than 30 airlines have already confirmed their participation, including top-level executives from Aerolineas Argentinas, Aeromexico, Air Canada, Air Jamaica, Aires, Aserca, Delta Connection, Avianca, Caribbean Airlines, Cayman Airways, Cielos Airlines, Copa Airlines, DHL, Emirates Airlines, Sky Airline, Iberia, Icaro, LAN Airlines, LAN Argentina, LAN Peru, Liat Airlines, Mexicana, Nature Air, Pace Airlines, Pluna, Santa Barbara, TACA, TACA PERU, TAM-LINHAS AEREAS, TAM Mercosur, and Volaris.

An impressive roster of crisis preparedness experts specific to the aviation industry has been invited* and confirmed as speakers, including:

Robert Jensen - Kenyon Worldwide Disaster Management, President

Jaime Daly - Lima Airport Partners, President

Claudia Gomez Prieto - Sociedad Argentina de Psicologia en Emergencias y Desastres, President

Jeremy Shebson - Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, Partner

Fernando Rockert de Magalhaes - GOL Transportes Aereos, Vice President Operations*

      Jerry Hendin - Alliance PR, Managing Partner
      Larry Ganse - Copa Airlines, COO
      Ed McLaughlin - FEI Behavioral Health, Executive Vice President
      Miguel Mojica - TACA, Flight Safety Director
      Carlos Herrera - Santiago Airport, Director of Operations
      Eric Mayett - Aeromexico, Director of Security*

Sharon Bryson - NTSB Office of Transportation Disaster Assistance, Deputy Director *

      Elizabeth Verdier - Boeing, Crisis Communications Expert
      Marc Henderson - Miami-Dade Aviation Department, Media Relations Manager
      David Rimmer - ExcelAir, Executive Vice President
      Marco Franca - PR Newswire, Vice President Latin America
      Tom Costello - NBC News, Washington Correspondent*

Don Phillips - previously a transportation writer for Washington Post and International Herald Tribune*

      Gabriela Frias - Business Anchor, CNN en Espanol*
      Joe Sharkey - New York Times, Business Travel Reporter*
      Jose Miguel Rodriguez - Avion Revue, Chief Correspondent Latin America*
      Alan Levin - USA Today,  Aviation Reporter*
      Steve Lott - IATA,  Head of Communications NA
      Robert McGeorge - IATA, General Counsel
      Luiz Claudio Aguiar - TAM Linhas Aereas,  Legal Director
      Richard Gimblett - Barlow, Lyde and Gilbert, Partner
      Jan VonFlatern - Airbus Americas, Senior Counsel*
      Eduardo Iglesias - TACA, Legal Vice President

Greg Phillips - Willis Global Aviation, National Aviation Safety Consultant

George Snyder - Marsh, Senior VP Aviation & Aerospace Practice Safety & Security

      Aileen Camacho - Gates and Partners, Senior Partner
      Alan May - Aon,  Managing Director
      Enrique Beltranena - Volaris, CEO
      *TBC

The two-day agenda encompasses the key aspects of aviation crisis preparedness and management, including what to expect when a crisis hits; case studies and lessons learned from previous incidents and accidents; operational implications and dealing with government investigating authorities during a crisis; crisis communications and dealing with key stakeholders and media; legal requirements and implications associated with an accident investigation; and managing risk and maintaining operations during a crisis, as well as a crisis communications and media training workshop.

Who should attend? Anyone associated with aviation industry crisis preparedness and crisis response efforts, including airlines, airports, civil aviation authorities, aviation industry executives, crisis management executives, contingency planners, corporate communications and public relations consultants, crisis response products and services suppliers, emergency response executives, executives responsible for family assistance, aircraft manufacturers, aviation insurers, aviation insurance brokers, government agencies, legal counsels, and safety and security executives.

For additional information and sponsorship opportunities, contact ALTA's Special Events Manager Sonya Lima at 1-786-522-7824/slima@alta.aero, or ALTA's Director of Communications and Aviation Crisis Preparedness Conference Chair Misty Pinson at mpinson@alta.aero.

About ALTA:

ALTA, www.alta.aero, was founded in 1980 as a non-profit airline association. Its member carriers have total revenue of more than $19 billion, operate more than 800 aircraft and employ more than 70,000 workers in Antigua, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, and in other nations the airlines serve.

Member Airlines: Aerolineas Argentinas, Aeromexico, Aeromexico Connect, Aeropostal, AeroRepublica, AeroSur, Aires, Air Jamaica, Aserca Airlines, Avianca, Bahamas Air, Caribbean Airlines, Cayman Airways, Cielos Airlines, Click, Copa Airlines, Cubana, GOL, Icaro, LAB, LAN Airlines, LAN Ecuador, LAN Peru, Liat, Mexicana, Nature Air, Pluna, Santa Barbara Airlines, Sky Airline, TACA, TACA Peru, TAM, TAM Mercosur, Tame, VARIG, VARIG LOG and Volaris. In addition, ALTA includes four Associate Airlines - Air Canada, Continental Airlines, Iberia and UPS.