APOT Review
Korean master class
APOT/IFSA/APEX Asia Forum 2012, Incheon, South Korea June 12-14. Jeremy Clark reports on the event on behalf of OnBoard Hospitality
There’s really only one word to describe the
APOT.Asia conference held in Incheon South Korea in June. Wow! The conference, held in association with IFSA and APEX, was a master class in organisation. Hosted by Heather Cho of Korean Air and organised by Happy and his team, we kicked off with a lively casino-themed BBQ banquet at the host hotel, the Hyatt Regency at Incheon International Airport. This event set the scene for the rest of the event with emphasis on a casual environment and serious networking. It also involved plenty of good food, good wines and late nights! But despite the revelry, it was a packed ballroom that welcomed the opening speeches at 8am the following morning.
“The Conference was a master class in organisation by Happy and his team and Heather Cho of Korean Air, the event sponsor”
APOT chairwoman Heather Cho welcomed us all, taking the opportunity to paint a picture of APOT’s role in the future and to thank the generous sponsors, not least Korean Air. David Loft, IFSA president, and hot in from Europe just three hours before, followed Heather with his welcoming speech. Joan Filippini, svp of Paramount Pictures non theatrical distribution, took the opportunity to welcome us all on behalf of APEX as Chris Babb was unable to attend.
Wednesday was conference day and the first guest speaker Mr Yun Hyung-su, vp of CJ CheilJedang, one of Korea’s largest food service and export companies, introduced us to the flavours and delights of Korean cuisine and how it is used inflight. The focus was on the Korean speciality of Bibimbap, a dish constructed carefully of cold vegetables and
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proteins served on piping hot steamed rice and then mixed and flavoured by the consumer to his own taste. Korean Air specialises in offering this dish and, speaking from experience, I can tell you it not only works well on board but is delicious too.
After the break, William Huot-Marchand, vp of Thales, took us into the future with “An Outlook on Inflight Entertainment and Connectivity”. Emphasis here seemed to be on connectivity and visions of a future which some may embrace and others might find slightly disturbing! Future concepts, some of which are already coming to fruition were discussed. From auto check-ins which detect your approach by scanning your mobile phone and instantly check you in, to finding out who else on the plane might be in your Facebook friends list, the range of connectivity opportunities seems endless.
This brought us neatly to the presentation by Ian Lyons of Quantum Intelligence. The presentation was called “‘It’s not Rocket Science” and on his business card it includes references to ‘Nano Fusion technology’, ‘Quantum Mechanics’ and Bio Frequency Technology’. What, you may ask, has that got to do with onboard travel and hospitality? Well, quite a lot it seemed.
Simply put, all the frequencies of everything from the magnetic fields put out by the engines to the wi-fi and devices used on board, apparently disturb our human senses, ability to taste, and even our “chee”. In demonstrations which included levitating Diversey’s Martin Jelley with four people using only their fingers, tasting whisky that had been treated to make it ‘zero point’ frequency, it was suggested that there are any number of different ways to treat onboard products to make them more palatable for the passenger.
Outside the Grand Ballroom Mr Kai Lee of the Korea Ginseng Corporation hosted a Ginseng Tea session. A useful aid to recovery! In the
foyer there was the Chefs’ Competition display of marvellous culinary creations from teams around the region, eventually won by Team Abu Dhabi.
Back in the main arena Chris Lundquist, vp of Panasonic, was looking at ‘The Future: predicting or preparing for it’. He posed interesting conundrums for all of us in the inboard hospitality business, including caterers and providers of cabin interiors and entertainment systems.
After lunch there was a series of Education Sessions which included presentations by Roland Grohmann of Formia on ‘Brand Appeal’, a wine tasting with Sacha Lichine, ‘Payment Technology’ from Guest Logix’s gm Tony Sit and another glimpse into the future as seen by Airbus presented by Ingo Wuggetzer. These concluded just in time to change into
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