A couple of years ago, I published a post about the airline CEOs that I respect the most, based on a question from a reader. In this post, I’d like to take an updated look at this topic, as quite a bit has changed since then, including some of my top picks. I’ll share my…
Continue reading: Who Are The Best Airline CEOs? My 7 Favorites, From Around The Globe
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I flew Ethiopian recently and was very impressed. Even their operations in ADD was flawless. They even have a business class only gate for most flight departures. And for those who sh*t on ADD...have you been to Newark lol.
It is very impressive what Ethiopian has achieved in Africa.
For all Ben Smith has improved the passenger experience, Air France-KLM's financial performance still hugely lags the other main European airline groups. So in this sense perhaps he would not be the best fit for American. IAG makes over three times as much profit from similar revenue and even Lufthansa somehow manages to make significantly more profit too (though Lufthansa itself makes a loss I think this is compensated by the other airlines in the group, especially Swiss). That's not even considering Ryanair which makes twice Air France's profit despite having a third of the revenue.
So while he may be improving things for the passenger this is not translating into financial results.
I'm a big fan of Mike Russell from Air Canada. Was nice to see him not back down when those attendants went on strike.
While O'Leary has made Ryanair successful, flying with them is an absolute pain. He has absolutely no regard for customers or employees.
And, contrary to what is said in the post, he is not the first person to have developed ultra low cost flying successfully around the globe. He merely goes after Herb Kelleher, founder of Southwest (who is probably rotating at high speed in his grave if/when he sees what his brainchild has become).
In my modest experience in flying Southwest, they care (or cared?) about customers and employees. O'Leary is only concerned about his own glory and wealth, at whatevrer expense that may be.
As a client, while Ryanair fares may be ultra low, so does my respect stand for that type of management however successful/profitable.
Yeah, O'Leary is rude and crude in that he doesn't kiss Ortberg's ass the way that Bastian kisses Faury's.
Rotating at high speed in his grave? Can't be rotating nearly as fast as Ryanair's 737s, with a 25-minute turnaround time and boarding complete before the plane lands.
"With Bastian now being 68 and Hauenstein leaving the airline, I can’t help but wonder who the next generation of leaders at the airline will be."
You and everyone else. There's a very real talent vacuum at the top.
ORD, please do not fall off your bar stool when you read this, I have actually given you a helpful heart darlink. Your assessment of the O’Leary character is spot on old bean …. 🙂
It's irrelevant. Whoever it is will have sworn his loyalty to the prince of darkness and will continue service to DL's satanic master.
I have only experienced two AF flights in the past five decades. My first was onboard Concorde and the second, just last month, in a La Premiere cabin. Because of that recent flight, I am minded to place Ben Smith at the very top of my personal list. As for the Irish leprechaun …. it is unmentionable don’t you know Ben!
If Alaska can make the transition to long haul flying successfully I think it would be hard to keep Ben Minicucci off this list. Before the 2016 VS acquisition Alaska was just a regional carrier, just a decade later Alaska is now a national carrier and looking to be more.
After reading three recent articles you wrote about Isom, I suspected that you'd cover your most respected airline CEOs, which added ETH CEO to the list as someone suggested. However, I hoped that you'd exclude Kirby and O'Leary from the list for many reasons, but my parameter is the opposite. I do not travel domestically but I read enough to form a sound and impartial opinion. Profits is the top priority for all businesses but it does not need to be "winner takes all". Capitalism emphasizes competition and confrontation over cooperation. My stomach turns when I read Kirby goad about the imminent demise of budget airlines, except SW, and the race to the bottom at AA, which passed him for the CEO position. I also do not emphasize the power of persuasion because only vocal scammers and con artists command and excel in such skill. There is no justification for the CEO's obscene compensation and benefits plus paid expenses exceed $20M while the lowest rank and file work two jobs to pay bills. I have no respect for individuals who prey on the working poor and the indefensible, such as consumers and the flying public, to become, maintain, compete for being a wealthier billionaire. Those oligarchs and plutocrats can wield their enormous wealth and influence to uplift the working poor and improve the habitat of wildlife animals and environment. Why do the US and European powers have such antagonistic relations between management and labor unions?
While not a current CEO, one of my favourites would be Cathay's Tony Tyler. He ran Cathay really well especially during the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 in his tenure. 2010 was one of the best and most successful years in Cathay's history. From aircraft orders, to new lounges and destinations, down to the first iteration of the Cirrus or reverse herringbone business class product. He eventually became IATA's CEO.
Article in Forbes about Isom tries to shed a different light: https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/the-skies-for-american-airlines-are-clearer-than-you-think/ar-AA1Wsofg?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=ACTS&cvid=69948da1c3d74d63b055a88d33028694&ei=12
While I have no interest in flying Ryanair, I do find O'Leary to be the most "realest" tell it like it is kind of guys. You are getting a 30 Euro flight to Stansted, what are you really expecting. In order to do that profitably and safely, you take what you can get. When concepts like stand up seats comes up, he's like if I can cram in another 30 people, I can lower the fare to 25 Euro. Is that a bad thing in the context of allowing for greater mobility around Europe? Not something for me or people on this blog, but for the general take one holiday a year type of crowd, it works.
To those wondering why Carsten Spohr is not on the list: He is not an airline CEO but the CEO of Lufthansa Group. Otherwise, Ben would’ve put him on #1.
(CEO of Lufthansa German Airlines is Jens Ritter.)
This is a list of all-men CEOs. While airline management undoubtedly skews male, why leave out some of the excellent women running airlines, like Mitsuko Tottori (JL) or Vanessa Hudson (QF)?
It’s telling that QR is no longer on this list, when it was a consistent fixture in past years. After Akbar al-Baker’s heavy fist and laser focus on product quality, followed by only two years of Badr Mohammed al-Meer’s refreshingly different approach, this is the first time that QR is off this list entirely. What does this portend for what has historically been one of the blogosphere’s favourite airlines, and certainly remains so in J cabins (plane swaps and human-rights issues be damned)?
When you’re done licking those boots, please, we have many, many more waiting for you…
Anne Rigail is the CEO of Air France and Marjan Rintel, KLM. Ben should have referred to both of them alongside Ben Smith. However whilst AF has improved dramatically since they took the helm, KLM has really gone the opposite direction with strikes and frequent meltdowns at Schiphol.
How many different handles did you create here just to give yourself 'likes' for dull statements which no one else would think of 'liking'?? I've suspected you for a looong time, but today I know for sure.
I dontcsee Vanessa Hudson from QANTAS on your list and the turnaround she has built. But then I wouldn't expect you to express much positivity about the airline.
I had the extreme displeasure of sitting next to Ed Bastian on a recent flight from PBI to LGA. He's definitely not my kind of person, but the crew and many of the passengers were falling all over him. I had no idea who he was, but I figured he had to be a bigwig at the airline because of all the attention he was getting, I told him after take-off that I didn't know who he was, but he must be a big deal at Delta. I also told him I wan't going to berate him during the flight, but I had a few suggestions, most of which involved the cleanliness (or lack thereof) of the Delta planes. His answer to every point I made was "We know about it," or "We're on top of it." For those of you who are not aware of this, Delta is the only airline with what is now called "Domestic First Class" between these two cities, so I have o choice.
What do you mean that you have "o" choice? You must fly in something called "Domestic First Class" to feel good about yourself?
If the product is such a travesty, perhaps don't fly it...
Disagree, Klaus. Neither Spohr nor Ritter belong on the list - look at what had happened to Lufthansa under their leadership.
AF is excellent and has an exceptional product for a Western carrier. Totally agree with your well-put point on the aggressive little Irishman.
A great many. Willy is a crazy, self-serving guy who has "meltdowns" when his posts don't get a "like". So much so he gets some form of derangement and starts making alternate accounts just to give himself a "like"!
Well, Badr has been gone for several months. Hope it means the slip in food, beverages, indifferent service will also be gone soon too...
What about the CEO of Starlux Airlines who is probably one of the few airline CEOs (in history) to pilot planes while serving as CEO. He also built Starlux from the ground up after being fired by EVA Air (and his siblings).
This is a good point. CEO’s are rewarded on financial performance, not necessarily good customer reviews. On that measure, the US carriers are vastly more profitable on a long term (and even short term basis), while the Europeans are fast less profitable and surprisingly, often value destructive. From what I read and hear, US carriers (I never fly with them) are pretty universally derided by consumers stuck In their oligopoly (mostly hated by their employees, which no doubt has a trickle down effect on clients)…but the CEO’s are financially far more successful.
In Europe, with the exception of LH which appears to have become the hated child of aviation, consumers appears relatively happy and some of us, very happy with carriers like AF (not KLM), but their financial metrics are not great. Tough to take a ruler to that one.
Michael O’Leary and Ryanair have absolutely no respect for passengers nor employees