IATA: Royal Jordanian's Majali is New IATA Chairman,; Cathay Pacific's Tyler To Follow In 2009
RDATE:03062008
ISTANBUL-- The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced today that Royal Jordanian Airlines CEO, Samer Majali, commenced his one-year term as the Chairman of the IATA Board of Governors. Majali succeeds Fernando Pinto, CEO of TAP Portugal who served as Chairman from June 2007.
Majali, is a 29-year veteran of the air transport industry who has served as CEO of Royal Jordanian since 2001. He successfully led the airline through one of its most challenging periods as it prepared for a successful privatisation. Majali takes on the Chairman duties at a difficult time as the airline industry falls back into the red with fuel prices skyrocketing to unprecedented levels.
"With fuel prices at record highs, the industry faces a crisis and the agenda for the year ahead has extraordinary challenges. Change must be even more aggressive. Finding even more efficiency gains-not just for airlines but throughout the industry value chain-is crucial for our survival. We celebrated a great achievement-100% e-ticketing. But there is no time to lose in pushing forward with the next phase of Simplifying the Business-Fast Travel," said Majali.
Majali noted that change must also involve governments. "In the unexplored territory of astronomical fuel prices, the environment debate takes on a completely new dimension. The incentive for airlines to improve performance has never been bigger, but governments stand in our way. They must overcome their obsession with punitive and unilateral emissions trading schemes and start working on real solutions to reduce CO2. A Single European Sky is critical. Equally important is the Agenda for Freedom. To fight the many crises that beset this industry, we must liberalise. Airlines need the same commercial freedoms that almost all other businesses enjoy to manage risk and grow our businesses into truly global enterprises," said Majali.
Giovanni Bisignani, IATA Director General and CEO said, "First, we must thank Fernando Pinto for a job well done. His leadership over the past year helped us reach our goal to eliminate paper tickets. I am confident that Samer will provide a unique perspective and great leadership to help us deal with our growing challenges in the world of US$130 oil."
IATA also announced the Board of Governors agreed to appoint Tony Tyler, Chief Executive of Cathay Pacific to serve as Chairman following Majali, commencing in June 2009.Tyler will bring a unique perspective from Asia-Pacific, which will soon become the largest aviation market in the world.
The announcements were made as the IATA Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit concluded in Istanbul today. The 900 delegates gathered for the event discussed the industry's most important issues, with executive briefing sessions on the environment and industry innovation. Full content of the briefings is available on: http://www.iata.org/events/agm/2008/.
Notes for Editors:
Among the last orders of business at the 2008 AGM was approval for the next World Air Transport Summit and IATA Annual General Meeting to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in June 2009. "We appreciate the kind offer of Idris Jala, CEO of Malaysia Airlines to meet in Kuala Lumpur next year-a vibrant economic and cultural centre," said Bisignani.
Membership of the Board of Governors at the close of the 64th Annual General Meeting:
Mr Valery M. Okulov, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Aeroflot
Mr Jean-Cyril Spinetta, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Air France
Mr Willie Walsh, Chief Executive Officer, British Airways
Mr Fernando Conte, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Iberia
Mr Peter Hartman, President and Chief Executive Officer, KLM
Mr Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Lufthansa AG
Mr Christoph Franz, President and Chief Executive Officer, SWISS
Mr Fernando Pinto, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,TAP Portugal
Mr Temel Kotil, President and Chief Executive Officer, Turkish Airlines
Mr Montie Brewer, President and Chief Executive Officer, Air Canada
Mr Gerard Arpey, President and Chief Executive Officer, American Airlines
Mr David Bronczek, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fedex Express
Mr Douglas Steenland, President and Chief Executive Officer, Northwest Airlines
Mr Glenn F. Tilton, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, United Airlines
Mr Andres Conesa, Chief Executive Officer, Aeromexico
Mr Pedro Heilbron, Executive President and Chief Executive Officer, Copa Airlines
Mr Enrique Cueto, Chief Executive Officer, LAN Airlines
Mr Tony Tyler, Chief Executive, Cathay Pacific Airways
Mr Liu Shaoyong, Chairman, China Southern Airlines
Mr Haruka Nishimatsu, President and Chief Executive Officer, Japan Airlines
Mr Naresh Goyal, Chairman, Jet Airways (India) Ltd.
Mr Yang Ho Cho, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Korean Air
Datuk Idris Jala, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Malaysia Airlines
Mr Geoff Dixon, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director,Qantas Airways Limited
Mr Chew Choon Seng, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Airlines Limited
Mr Sanjay Bhuckory, Chairman, Air Mauritius
Captain Tawfik Assy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Egyptair
Mr Titus Tukero Naikuni, Chief Executive Officer and Group Managing Directo, Kenya Airways
Mr Samer Majali, President and Chief Executive Officer, Royal Jordanian
Eng. Khalid Abdullah Almolhem, Director General, Saudi Arabian Airlines
CONTACT: Albert Tjoeng, Manager, Corporate Communications, Asia Pacific, IATA Tel: +65 9172 3767
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