Source: ABS-CBN News Author: 06/13/2009
Subject Concerned: Airlines Human Resource
Cathay Pacific Airways chief executive officer Tony Tyler has been appointed as the new chairman of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), succeeding Royal Jordanian Airlines CEO Samer Majali.
Tyler is faced with a challenging term this year, especially with IATA expecting the global airline industry to lose US$9 billion in 2009 due to the economic crisis.
"IATA has some critical roles to play. It must protect the US$350 billion in industry cash flowing through its financial systems. It must also find even more efficiency gains -- not just by airlines but throughout the industry value chain," Tyler said in a statement.
"The industry is committed to achieving carbo-neutral growth by 2020. But to achieve this, we need to focus on bringing governments on board. That means turning their support for improved technology, effective operations, and efficient infrastructure into action as well as reaching agreement on a global sectoral approach to economic measures in a post-Kyoto climate framework," he added.
The 32-year veteran of the air transport industry served as CEO of Cathay Pacific since 2007. He worked for Cathay Pacific and the Swire Group in many cities across the globe, and has been on the airline's leadership board since 1996.
During that time, Tyler helped navigate Cathay Pacific through several challenges including the Asian financial crisis, the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak, and the coordinated suicide attacks by Al Qaeda upon the United States in 2001.
After his one-year term as IATA chairman, Tyler will be succeeded by FedEx Express President and CEO David Bronczek in June 2010.