Tyler new IATA chairman
09 / 06 / 2009
CATHAY Pacific Airways chief executive officer Tony Tyler (right) is the new chairman of IATA. His tenure will last until June next year. He succeeds Samer Majali, chief executive officer of Royal Jordanian Airlines, who served in the post from June 2008.
Tyler is a 32-year veteran of the air transport industry who has served as Cathay Pacific chief executive officer since 2007. During that time he helped navigate the airline through several challenges including the Asian financial crisis, the SARS outbreak, and the post September 11-recovery. Tyler takes on the IATA chairman duties at a difficult time as the airline industry works to weather a global economic recession, which has affected passenger and cargo demand.
“The global economic meltdown is hitting the aviation industry hard,” Tyler said. “A toxic combination of low fares, a large drop in premium travel, and weak cargo loads is hitting the bottom line hard. 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.
Commenting on Cathay’s performance recently, he said: “On the cargo side, things have stopped getting worse.” He added: “We don’t see a problem financing airplane orders.”
IATA also announced that David Bronczek, president and chief executive of FedEx Express, is to serve as chairman following Tyler.