ALTA'S CCMA & Aircraft MRO Conference Kicks Off in Puerto Rico

San Juan, Puerto Rico (May 13, 2016) - The Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) is kicking off its CCMA & Aircraft MRO Conference this week in Puerto Rico hosted by Puerto Rico's Tourism Company and Meet Puerto Rico, and with support from the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO).

As the largest and longest standing aviation conference in the region, CCMA has been bringing together Latin American and Caribbean airline technical buyers and industry suppliers for decades in a unique event that provides the opportunity for interaction and networking between suppliers and airline representatives. This year the CCMA is joining forces with ALTA's MRO Conference, the region's premier event for the commercial air transport maintenance, repair and overhaul industry. The all-in-one conference will create the convenient opportunity for industry professionals to network, exchange ideas and best practices, debate issues and challenges and gather knowledge during the three-day conference.

This year's ALTA CCMA & Aircraft MRO conference is being held May 15 - 18, 2016, at El Conquistador Hotel in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.  Over 800 delegates from around the world are currently arriving in Puerto Rico, including more than 100 airline participants, as well as nearly 700 representatives from hundreds of aviation suppliers from around the world.  As in prior years, the conference sold out weeks in advance of its opening date.

The three-day agenda features meetings, panel discussions, airline and supplier committees, as well as table top displays and an exhibition area.  Hundreds of mini-meetings will be conducted, facilitating the purchasing power of aeronautical materials. 

"This conference provides the ideal platform to facilitate the coming together of airlines and suppliers, as well as airline technical and maintenance teams, to discuss key challenges that areas within the aviation industry are facing," said ALTA Executive Director Eduardo Iglesias.

The Latin American and Caribbean aviation industry creates over 4.9 million jobs and contributes US $150 billion in GDP towards the region's economies.  As such, "Our continued accomplishments and productivity at this year's CCMA/MRO conference are more important than ever, as we continue to focus on the sustainability of the success that Latin American and Caribbean aviation has attained over the past decade," added Iglesias.

"The Puerto Rico Tourism Company is proud to host this year's ALTA CCMA/MRO in our beautiful Island, and remains committed to building partnerships that will promote the growth of our tourism industry," stated Ingrid I. Rivera Rocafort, executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company. "We look forward to seeing the results of such an important event, one that provides its over 800 attendees valuable opportunities to network with distinguished speakers, airline executives, and industry suppliers, as well as the opportunity to enjoy Puerto Rico's five-star attractions and offerings."  

"This is what Puerto Rico's economic transformation is about," said Bacó Bagué, Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce of Puerto Rico.  "The aerospace sector is becoming a key player for economic development in the Island, with a whole ecosystem developing around this cluster. Having this opportunity for networking and discussion in Puerto Rico is a great example of that."  The Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) will be representing the economic development team during the conference in order to take advantage of the business development meetings that the event will generate.  "This event puts in Puerto Rico the eyes of many relevant industry executives of the region that could consider the island as their next investment destination.  We look forward to taking advantage of that and leveraging the opportunity with Puerto Rico's value proposition for aerospace," added Antonio Medina, executive director of PRIDCO.

In addition to airline partners Copa Airlines and Avianca, primary sponsors for this year's conference are Airbus/Satair Group, Embraer, Honeywell, UTC Aerospace Systems, and Wencor Group.

Sponsors also include Aero Controls Inc., Aeroman, Air Cost Control, Air France Industries/KLM Engineering & Maintenance, Aviation Inflatables, Avio-Diepen, B&W Aviation, Bombardier, Fokker, GA Telesis, Global Airtech, Hansair, Heico, Kellstrom Materials, KLX Aerospace Solutions, Lufthansa Technik, Panasonic, Professional Aircraft Accessories, Solair Group, SR Technics, STS Component Solutions, Thales, TIC Logistis, TP Aerospace, VAS Aero Service, and Zodiac Aerospace.

About ALTA

ALTA (Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association) is a private, non-profit organization, whose member airlines represent over 90 percent of the region's commercial air traffic.  ALTA coordinates the collaborative efforts of its members in order to facilitate the development of safer, more cost-efficient and environmentally friendly air transport in the Latin America and Caribbean region for the mutual benefit of the association's members, their customers and the industry.