(SINGAPORE) Jean-Cyril Spinetta, Chairman and CEO of Air France was elected as Chairman of the International Air Transport Association's Board of Governors for 2004-2005. Spinetta takes over from Isao Kaneko, Chairman of Japan Airlines who ended his extra-ordinary two year term with the closing of IATA's 60th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Singapore.
"I thank Isao Kaneko for leading the Board through two of the most difficult years in our history. His leadership kept IATA relevant and at the forefront of our industry's issues—leading an ambitious agenda for change. As we move forward with simplifying our business processes, the role of IATA—to make change happen—has never been more critical," said Spinetta. "My priority is to pull our industry's stakeholders, including governments and industry partners, along with the airlines as we rebuild the industry's structures."
"The industry is at a turning point and visionary direction is essential. Both Mr. Kaneko and Mr. Spinetta are at the leading edge of the structural changes the industry needs to achieve. I thank Mr. Kaneko for his strong support over the last two years and look forward to continuing to drive change throughout the industry with the leadership of Mr. Spinetta," said Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO of IATA.
The Annual General meeting was attended by over 600 delegates representing airlines from around the world. This was the first AGM and World Air Transport Summit to be held in Singapore since 1976. The IATA AGM will next meet 29-31 May 2005 in Tokyo. Proceedings and documentation may be viewed at www.iata.org.
MEMBERS OF THE IATA BOARD OF GOVERNORS
As at 7th June
Mr Gerard Arpey
President and Chief Executive Officer
AMERICAN AIRLINES
Dr Khaled A. Ben-Bakr
Director General
SAUDI ARABIAN AIRLINES CORP.
Mr David Bronczek
President and Chief Executive Officer
FEDEX EXPRESS
Mr Chew Choon Seng
Chief Executive Officer
SIA
Mr Yang Ho Cho
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
KOREAN AIR LINES CO. LTD.
Mr Fernando Conte
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
IBERIA, LINEAS AEREAS DE ESPAÑA S.A.
Mr Enrique Cueto
Chief Executive Officer
LAN CHILE S.A.
Mr Geoff Dixon
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
QANTAS
Mr Rod Eddington
Chief Executive Officer
BRITISH AIRWAYS p.l.c.
Mr Naresh Goyal
Chairman
JET AIRWAYS
Mr Gerald Grinstein
Chief Executive Officer
DELTA AIR LINES
Mr Sigurdur Helgason
President and Chief Executive Officer
ICELANDAIR
Mr Mohammad El Hout
Chairman and Director General
MIDDLE EAST AIRLINES AIRLIBAN - MEA
Mr Isao Kaneko
Chairman and Group CEO
JAPAN AIRLINES INTERNATIONAL CO. LTD.
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Mr Jorgen Lindegaard
President and Chief Executive Officer
SAS
Mr Carlos Luiz Martins
President and Chief Executive Officer
VARIG
Mr Wolfgang Mayrhuber
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
LUFTHANSA
Mr Robert Milton
President and Chief Executive Officer
AIR CANADA
Eng. Atef Abdel Hamid Mostafa
Chairman, Director General, EGYPTAIR
Mr Titus Naikuni
Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
KENYA AIRWAYS
Mr Valery M. Okulov
Director General and Chief Executive Officer
AEROFLOT
Mr Nelson Ramiz
President and Chief Executive Officer
AEROPOSTAL ALAS DE VENEZUELA C.A.
Mr Vagn Soerensen
President and Chief Executive Officer
AUSTRIAN AIRLINES
Mr Jean-Cyril Spinetta
Chairman
AIR FRANCE
Mr Keijo Suila
Chief Executive Officer
FINNAIR
Mr Glenn F. Tilton
President and Chief Executive Officer
UNITED AIRLINES
Mr David Turnbull
Deputy Chairman & Chief Executive
CATHAY PACIFIC
Mr Leo M. van Wijk
President and Chief Executive Officer
KLM ROYAL DUTCH AIRLINES
Mr Andre N. Viljoen
President and Chief Executive Officer
SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS
Mr Gary L. Wilson
Chairman
NORTHWEST AIRLINES CORPORATION
Mr Ye Yigan
Chairman
CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES