Chicago Department of Aviation co-hosts the 20th World Route Development Forum on September 20-23, 2014 in Chicago

CHICAGO, 2014-9-22 — /Travel PR News/ — Chicago is this year’s official destination for the largest and most prestigious business-to-business aviation event and airline route development forum in the world – the 20th World Route Development Forum  – taking place September 20-23, 2014 at Chicago’s McCormick Place and various locations throughout the city. World Routes brings together top executives from airlines, airports, tourism authorities and civil aviation authorities to meet, plan, negotiate and create new airline routes. How the world connects is decided at World Routes.

The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) and Choose Chicago are co-hosting the Forum where 3,000 decision makers from nearly 120 countries (a record number), 800 airports, 300 airlines and 200 tourism authorities are expected to attend. Delegates will participate in more than 10,000 pre-arranged meetings to discuss and negotiate new air service between cities, with executives from United Airlines, American Airlines, Emirates, Etihad Airways and more to speak and participate in panel discussions covering all issues related to commercial airline route development. Speakers include Sir Tim Clark, President & CEO of Emirates; Scott Kirby, President of American Airlines; Rosemarie S. Andolino, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Aviation; Augustin de Romanet, Chairman & CEO, Aéroports de Paris; and Susan Kurland, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs.

“On behalf of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, we are excited to welcome all delegates of the 20th World Route Development Forum to Chicago. The opportunity to host this Forum is a great one for the City of Chicago,” said Commissioner Andolino. “Aviation executives and decision-makers from across the globe will experience our world-class city and renowned international airports, perhaps for the first time. This event allows us to showcase all that Chicago has to offer and further establish ourselves as a vital gateway destination for all airlines.”

Chicago was chosen as the World Routes 2014 host city for its distinguished leadership in the aviation industry and excellent location with global and domestic flight accessibility. In the last year alone, O’Hare and Midway International Airports welcomed eight new airlines and added 25 new destinations. Additionally, Chicago offers the best that America has to offer: world-renowned and state-of-the-art attractions, 25 Michelin-starred restaurants, Tony Award-winning theater, luxury shopping and two world-class aviation hubs – O’Hare and Midway International Airports.

“The selection of Chicago as host city of World Routes 2014 represents the culmination of discussions which began between Commissioner Rosemarie Andolino, her team and Routes in late 2010. We’re delighted that those discussions and the hard work from both the Chicago Team and the Routes Team paid off and resulted in this fantastic partnership with Chicago Department of Aviation and Choose Chicago,” said Katie Bland, Director, Routes and UBM Live. “Chicago is a world class city and attending delegates have the opportunity to experience its many attractions, both business and leisure. It’s home to two major airports offering excellent connectivity from within the US as well as great direct access to the rest of the world for our delegates flying in from over 115 countries. We know that this 20th edition of World Routes will be one to remember here in Chicago.”

This is only the second time in World Routes history that the Forum has been held in the U.S.

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Rosemarie S. Andolino, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Aviation (left) and Katie Bland, Director, Routes and UBM Live (right) speak to reporters at a news conference in Terminal 5 at O’Hare International Airport today.