CONNECT Route Development Forum is a European event aimed at the aviation industry.

CONNECT background and origins

In 2004, under the name of French Connect, the first event was launched by

Alistair Darling Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (28 November 1953 – 30 November 2023) was a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under prime minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party ...

, the then UK Secretary of State for Transport and was hosted jointly by

Manchester Airport Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2024, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passengers (the busiest outside of London) ...

and the recently branded

Liverpool John Lennon Airport Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport serving Liverpool, England, on the estuary of the River Mersey south-east of Liverpool city centre. Scheduled domestic, European, North African and Middle Eastern services are oper ...

, which both desired to attract new airlines into their region. Shortly after the first event in Liverpool and Manchester, of the airlines who attended,

Wizz Air {{Infobox airline , airline = Wizz Air Holdings Plc. , IATA = , ICAO = , callsign = , aoc = , hubs = , focus_cities = , frequent_flyer = {{ubl, class=nowrap , Wizz All You Can Fly , Wizz Discount Club , Wizz Privilege Pass , ...

launched new flights to Liverpool, Jet2.com opened a new base at

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and Flybe commenced services to both airports. Each year, the event, now known as CONNECT, has grown to its present level of 600 delegates, and the event has now been hosted by 15 different international regions from Europe and beyond. CONNECT (formerly French Connect) was created and has been organised by The Airport Agency since its inception in 2003. The Airport Agency is a marketing communications business with clients including Aéroports de Paris, Bordeaux Airport and

Marseille Provence Airport Marseille Provence Airport () is an international airport located 27 km (17 miles) northwest of Marseille, on the territory of Marignane, both '' communes'' of the Bouches-du-Rhône ''département'' in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regi ...

Impact on the French aviation market

French Connect was created in 2004 in response to the demand from French airports for a dedicated event that would put them in contact with low-cost carriers. Up to this point, the French market had proved difficult for the low-cost carriers to break into. The event played a part in opening up the French market to the low-cost carriers, witnessed in the development of purpose-built low-cost terminals in France at the likes of Marseille and Bordeaux, and the opening of domestic routes by low-cost carriers (e.g.

EasyJet EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airlin ...

from Bordeaux to Lyon). The event has since broadened its appeal by including politicians, tour operators, suppliers and international guest airports, and has evolved into a larger multinational event and speakers and airline network planners attend from legacy carriers such as

British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...

and

Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...

and airlines and airports from as far as Canada,

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

French Connect becomes CONNECT

In 2014, after 10 years of growing success, French Connect re-branded and became CONNECT — a brand evolution that reflected the event's appeal to an ever-wider audience. The new name of CONNECT was to convey the event's continuously broadening horizons, whilst maintaining its original and unique formula (unlimited networking, high level conferences and fantastic hospitality) with a single objective: to deliver more opportunities for all attending delegates.

Past event venues and hosts

* 2004 Liverpool Marriott Hotel South, Liverpool hosted by Manchester and Liverpool John Lennon Airports * 2005 Thorseby Hall, Sheffield hosted by

Doncaster Sheffield Airport Doncaster Sheffield Airport , formerly named and commonly referred to as Robin Hood Airport, was an international airport in Finningley near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England, in operation between 2005 and 2022. The site lies south-east ...

* 2006 Sofitel Palm Beach Hotel, Marseille hosted by

* 2007 Atlantia Conference Centre, Nantes hosted by

Nantes Atlantique Airport Nantes Atlantique Airport (, formerly known as ''Aéroport Château Bougon'') is an international airport serving Nantes, France. It is located southwest of the city, in Bouguenais. The airport is operated by the ''Chambre de commerce et d'i ...

* 2008 Mercure Courchevel 1850 Congress Centre hosted by Courchevel Airport & Grenoble Isère Airport * 2009 Strand Hotel, Limerick hosted by

Shannon Airport Shannon Airport () is an international airport located in County Clare in Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. With almost 2 million passengers in 2023, the airport is the third busiest ...

* 2010 French Connect Village, Cité St Pierre, Lourdes hosted by Tarbes-Lourdes Pyrenées Airport * 2011 Chambre of Commerce, Lille hosted by

Lille Airport Lille Airport () is an airport located in Lesquin, south-southeast of Lille, a city in northern France. It is also known as Lille-Lesquin Airport or Lesquin Airport. Lille is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the capital of the Hau ...

* 2012 The Dome, Disneyland Paris hosted by Paris-Vatry Airport * 2013 Palais des Congrès, Bordeaux hosted by Bordeaux Airport * 2014 Palmeraie Conference Center (Palais des Congrès), Marrakech hosted by Moroccan Airports Authority (ONDA) * 2015 Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney hosted by

Kerry Airport Kerry Airport (; ), often called Farranfore Airport, is an international airport in Farranfore, County Kerry, Ireland. It is north off the Ring of Kerry and southeast of the county town, Tralee. Passenger services are operated by Ryanair an ...

* 2016 National Gallery of Art, Vilnius hosted by Lithuanian Airports * 2017 Palais des Congrès, Ajaccio hosted by Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Ajaccio & Southern Corsica * 2018 Biltmore Hotel, Tbilisi hosted by

United Airports of Georgia United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

* 2019 Bastione di San Remy hosted by Cagliari Airport and Sardinia Region * 2020 Susesi Resort Hotel, Antalya hosted by

Antalya Airport Antalya Airport is a major international airport located northeast of the city centre of Antalya, Turkey. It is a major destination during the European summer leisure season due to its location at the country's Mediterranean coast. It handled ...

* 2022 Tampere Hall, Tampere hosted by City of Tampere and Business Tampere * 2023 Hilton Tangier Al Houara Resort, Tangier hosted by Moroccan Airports Authority and Moroccan National Tourism Office * 2024 Lingotto Fiere, Torino hosted by Visit Piemonte, Torino Airport and Cuneo Airport.

References

External links

* {{Official, http://www.connect-aviation.com
theairportagency.com
Aviation organizations