The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently announced Earl Lawrence’s promotion to the Agency’s Executive Director for Aircraft Certification. Lawrence was previously Executive Director for the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Office. He succeeds Dorenda Baker, who retired in November after a distinguished aviation safety career.
Jay Merkle, Deputy Vice President for the FAA Air Traffic Organization’s Program Management Office, will become the new head of UAS Integration. The appointments are effective in December, and both executives will report to FAA Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety Ali Bahrami.
“As longstanding FAA advocates for safety, Earl Lawrence and Jay Merkle are the right selections at a critical time for emerging aviation technologies,” said FAA Acting Administrator Dan Elwell. “Their extensive experience will help ensure a safe transition as these new technologies mature and enter our country’s national airspace.”
Lawrence is a veteran aviator with extensive aviation and leadership experience. Prior to managing the UAS Integration Office, Lawrence was Director of the FAA Small Airplane Directorate and was responsible for 17 aircraft certification and manufacturing district offices in 21 states. Before coming to the FAA in 2010, he served as Vice President for Industry and Regulatory Affairs at the Experimental Aircraft Association.
Merkle has more than 25 years of engineering and program management experience in both the FAA and the defense industry. In his previous position within the Air Traffic Organization, Merkle supported the UAS Integration Office and was an architect of the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) program. Prior to that, Merkle was a key manager in the FAA’s NextGen Air Transportation System Office.
The Aircraft Certification Service is the second largest Aviation Safety Organization, employing more than 1,300 people. Aircraft Certification Service offices are located across the United States, with international offices in Singapore and Belgium. Aircraft Certification is responsible for design and manufacturing approvals, along with the continued operational safety of all aviation products in the United States.
The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Office coordinates the development of regulations, policies, programs, and procedures to enable the safe integration of UAS into the National Airspace System.
Low-fare carrier IndiGo has appointed global aviation veteran Ronojoy Dutta as principal consultant to put together a five-year business plan for India’s biggest airline that controls more than 40% of the domestic market.
Dutta, who will report to co-founder Rahul Bhatia, is a top contender to subsequently head the airline, one of the fastest growing in the world, two people close to the matter separately told ET.
ET broke the news online, before IndiGo formally announced Dutta’s appointment. The airline didn’t elaborate whether Dutta would later lead the carrier. When asked, Bhatia stuck to the company’s official stance and didn’t expound on Dutta’s future role.
Bhatia is currently IndiGo’s interim CEO. He took charge after Aditya Ghosh quit as president earlier this year. Senior adviser Gregory Taylor had been slated to take up that position, according to the people cited above.
Dutta was with United Airlines for 17 years and remained its president between 1999 and 2002. He was once a colleague of IndiGo co-founder Rakesh Gangwal, who was with the airline between 1984 and 1994, before moving to US Airways, where Dutta later became a strategic adviser and member of the board. Dutta headed Air Sahara from 2004 to 2006 and quit just before its takeover by Jet Airways.
Dutta and Gangwal were at one time heading rival carriers, United Airlines and US Airways — two Indians at the forefront of the American aviation industry. Legend has it that Gangwal was the first to call Dutta after his promotion as the head of United Airlines.
Dutta is a graduate from the IIT Kharagpur while Gangwal graduated from IIT Kanpur. Dutta received his management degree from Harvard Business School while Gangwal got his from Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dutta has been a strategic adviser for several airlines, such as Air Canada and Hawaiian Airlines. He has also advised financial institutions such as Cerberus, Greenbriar, Houlihan Lokey and aviation consultancy AAR Corp.
He joins IndiGo at a time the airline is on an aggressive expansion spree. IndiGo has a fleet of about 200 planes and more than 350 already ordered are waiting to be delivered. It had a market capitalisation of Rs 38,300 crore as of close of trade on Tuesday, more than the M-cap of several of its rivals combined.
But the airline also plunged to its first net loss of Rs 652 crore (more than Rs 1,000 crore when not padded by tax credits and income from fixed deposits) for the July-September quarter from a net profit of Rs 551 crore a year earlier. IndiGo’s per-seat revenue has been falling and comfortable cash reserves are deflating.
The carrier, like its peers, has been hit by rising fuel prices and the falling rupee, but also, as many say, by its self-created problems of overcapacity.
Ghosh left the airline in April. His exit was marked by disagreements with the management over policy issues, including the airline’s expansion plans.
Dutta’s appointment is also the latest in IndiGo’s efforts to rope in global or expatriate talent as it looks to expand operations to the West in the form of low-cost, long-haul flights. Many have warned that in its global ambitions, the airline shouldn’t lose the plot in the local market.
Apart from Taylor, also a United veteran, there were other appointments such as Willy Boulter in the position of chief strategy officer, Michael Swiatek as chief planning officer and Wolfgang Prock-Schauer as chief operating officer. Rohit Philip — one of the first such appointments — has joined as chief financial officer.
Crane Worldwide Logistics has appointed Kenneth Nielsen to serve as managing director for Benelux, reporting to EMEIA regional vice president, Marco Nazzari.
Nielsen, who holds a business degree from Tietgen Business College in Odense, Denmark, will work at Crane’s office in Amsterdam.
He has more than 20 years of experience in a variety of senior positions across the supply chain industry, with positions including director – global ocean product at Geodis Freight Forwarding.
The company says hiring Nielsen demonstrates a commitment to improving operations in the Netherlands, which consists of an airfreight base in Amsterdam, ocean freight in Rotterdam and contract logistics in Tilburg.
Nazzari says, “We are excited to welcome Kenneth to the Crane Worldwide Logistics family. Kenneth will be a tremendous asset to our clients and team in this growing region. The Benelux region is a strategic hub for logistics activities in Europe and will be a key focus of the EMEIA team moving forward.”
Airbus Defense and Space has appointed Barbara Bergmeier, as Head of Operations and Member of the Executive Committee, effective 1 December 2018. She succeeds André-Hubert Roussel, who will become Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ArianeGroup, a 50-50 joint venture between Airbus and Safran, effective 1 January 2019.
Barbara Bergmeier joins Airbus Defense and Space from Vilsbiburg, Germany-based Dräxlmaier Group, where she has been Chief Operating Officer and an Executive Board Member since 2014. In that capacity, she has been in charge of 50 production sites in
20 countries and has been instrumental in expanding the company’s industrial footprint in Asia and in the Americas.
Before joining Dräxlmaier Group in 2014, Barbara Bergmeier worked at automotive company BMW Group where she held various senior management positions from 1990. Among others, she was Senior Vice President HR Management/Services at the company’s headquarters in Munich, Vice President Chassis & Drive Components in Dingolfing, Germany and Vice President Assembly and Logistics at BMW’s Spartanburg plant in the US.
Barbara Bergmeier holds a degree in business administration from the University of Applied Sciences in Landshut, Germany.
Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has appointed Duncan Watson as Vice President – Group Commercial Cargo.
In his new role, Duncan is based at WFS’ Head Office in Roissy, Paris, and reports to Barry Nassberg, Group Chief Commercial Officer.
Duncan brings some 30 years of experience and expertise to WFS. He spent 18 years at DHL with local, regional and global commercial responsibilities before joining Emirates Airline, where he spent 11 years, ultimately holding the post of Vice President, Cargo Commercial Operations, based in Dubai, responsible for the airline’s cargo operations and commercial activities across The Americas, Africa and the Middle East.
“Duncan has a strong understanding of the air cargo industry, the evolving role of the handler and the commercial drivers of growth and brings a new dimension to our Group Com¬mercial team. I know he will make a significant contribution to our success as we continue to leverage our growing international network and service capabilities to benefit our airline customers across the globe,” Barry Nassberg stated.
2018 has been another strong year of growth for WFS, which has successfully won new cargo handling contracts with leading carriers, including Emirates and Qatar Airways in France, THAI Cargo in the UK and Ireland, Cathay Pacific in Brussels and Copenhagen, American Airlines in Milan, Egyptair in Amsterdam and Brussels, and Turkish Airlines, Aer Lingus, DHL Air and Ethiopian Airlines in the U.S. WFS is also continuing to invest in upgrades to its cargo operations and the opening of more handling centres. In the year to date, key developments have included the signing of a 15-year lease on a new 346,000 sq ft state-of-the-art cargo terminal at New York JFK, which will handle more than 300 million kilos a year when it opens in Q4 2020, as well as the opening of a new cargo centre at Milan Malpensa. WFS has also been selected to manage the Seafood Centre at Oslo Airport.
WFS will continue to invest significantly to support its priority of delivering the highest standards of safety, security and service.
Kuehne + Nagel UAE has opened its new warehouse extension in the Logistics District in the presence of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) and Chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation (DACC).
The inauguration coincides with Kuehne + Nagel’s 40-year anniversary since establishing operations in the UAE.
The new warehouse is intended to serve aerospace and other high-tech industries, furthering boosting Dubai’s global competitiveness through state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities in the logistics sector.
The expansion has also enabled Kuehne + Nagel to further grow its pharmaceutical operations in line with international guidelines in governance, risk and compliance standards, as the extension allows more capacity in the existing phase 2 warehouse to be utilised for pharma logistics.
The new warehouse facility is spread over an area of 10,000 square meters, built with one main chamber as the general storage area and a mezzanine chamber. The new building is also equipped with the latest warehousing technology and has 10 docking stations and one drive in door with a ramp for aerospace materials and large engines.
“The extension of our warehouse campus in Dubai South Logistics District underlines our strong commitment to the UAE and the Middle East and provide outstanding logistics services to our customers,” said Thorsten Pook, managing director of Kuehne + Nagel UAE and Oman.
“We recognize the tremendous growth potential of the Middle East and situating our operations in Logistics District is the ideal choice to drive growth for our customers and significantly contributing to the efficiency in their value chain,” he added.
Dubai South, the fastest growing free zone in the region, continues to attract small and large companies owing to its strategic location, state-of-the-art infrastructure and innovative approaches that facilitate business setup.
“We congratulate Kuehne + Nagel for this new milestone, which enables them to serve high-value industries,” said Khalifa Al Zaffin, executive chairman of DACC and Dubai South. “This move further reflects the attractiveness of the Logistics District as an ideal environment for regional expansion and a strategic location to connect to the global markets with its easy access to various ports of entry, including air, sea and land.”
The Logistics District is fast becoming the supply chain capital for international markets, given the convenience, proximity and easy access to seaports, airports and major roads.
Kuehne + Nagel UAE has continued to grow in the region since its inception in 1978, owning two warehouses and operating three others, and employing more than 400 employees. With the new warehouse, Kuehne + Nagel has now extended its capability to a total of 41,000 square meters storage capacity to meet the growing market demand in the coming years.
FedEx Express, the world’s largest express transportation company, has increased the frequency of its direct Memphis-Dubai Boeing 777F flight, on the back of growing demand for intercontinental trade between the Middle East and the USA.
“As the first to launch a dedicated flight between the USA and the UAE, FedEx has unrivalled expertise in shipping from and to the USA, and since 2011, the FedEx Boeing 777F flight has provided unparalleled access to boost trade between the US and the Middle East,” said Jack Muhs, regional president, FedEx Express Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa.
“Flights on the Memphis-Dubai route also transit through Europe, giving businesses greater access to these critical markets, enabling stronger inter-continental trade links with added capacity between the Middle East into the European Union,” he added.
Over a 10-year period (2006-2016), USA exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) grew by 118%. The UAE is currently the USA’s 28th largest trading partner, with a total trade value of US $24 billion worth of imports and exports in 2017.
The UAE also represents the largest export market for the European Union (EU) among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, with exports amounting to EUR 42 billion, and total trade in goods between the EU and the UAE amounting to EUR 52 billion in 2017.
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