Sauder professors commemorate opening of second runway at Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan

OSAKA-- On October 15, Sauder professors Tae Oum and Anming Zhang helped commemorate the opening of the second runway at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.

Oum, Sauder's UPS Foundation Chair in Transportation and Professor, Operations and Logistics Division, delivered the keynote presentation in the opening session of the 2007 International Airport Symposium at Kansai Airport Conference Hall.

In addition to marking the new runway, the event was devoted to future prospects for the airline market and international hub airports in East Asia.

Oum -- who presented "The Current Status and Future Direction of Competition on Hub Airport Development in East Asia" -- is also the president of the Air Transport Research Society (ATRS).

His lecture was followed by a presentation from Anming Zhang, the Vancouver International Airport Authority Professor in Air Transportation at the Sauder School of Business.

Zhang presented "The Process and Impact of the Integration of the Aviation Market - The Northeast Asia Market and China Factor" to the symposium’s 300-plus attendees.

With a construction cost of $25 billion, Kansai International Airport holds the distinction of being the world’s most expensive to build. By opening its second runway this past August, Kansai International Airport has become Japan's first international hub airport to provide full 24-hour service.

"Kansai International Airport has defined its vision to become Japan's first international air logistics hub and to serve as a gateway connecting Kansai to Asia and the rest of the world," said Kazuhiro Yoshikawa, the Director General of the Kansai Airport Research Institute, and organizer of the event.

“The symposium provides a great opportunity for discussing the future direction of the airline market in East Asia, future prospects for international hub airports, and establishment of an international aviation market,” he said.

The Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia is Canada's leading academic business school, recognized globally for its contributions to the transformation of business practices through innovative research and teaching. The school has over 28,000 alumni in 70 countries around the world.

CONTACT

Derek Moscato
Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604-822-8345
E:derek.moscato@sauder.ubc.ca