Another slap for Singaporeans from SIA. Cannot find one Singaporean to head its budget airline.
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SIA appoints CEO for new low-fare airline
By Ven Sreenivasan, The Business Times | Wed, Jul 20 2011
He has been with the SIA Group for more than 15 years.
SIA appoints CEO for new low-fare airline
SINGAPORE - Singapore Airlines has appointed New Zealander and Singapore permanent resident Campbell Wilson as the founding CEO of its no-frills, low-fare airline which is set to be launched next year.
Mr Wilson, 40, has been with the SIA Group for more than 15 years and has held positions both overseas as well as in the head office.
He joined SIA in April 1996 in Auckland and held marketing and sales positions in New Zealand as well as Australia. In 2003 Mr Wilson moved to the head office and held positions in the Network Revenue Management and Network Planning departments.
In 2006 Mr Wilson was appointed vice-president Canada, based in Vancouver. In 2008 he was appointed general manager Hong Kong and in 2010 became general manager Japan, based in Tokyo.
"My immediate task is to establish a strong management team and we will be actively recruiting to fill senior positions," said Mr Wilson. "There is huge potential in this new market segment and we can promise many exciting developments from the new airline in the lead-up to our launch next year."
Mr Wilson was born and raised in Christchurch, New Zealand and is a Singapore permanent resident. He has a Master of Commerce (1st Class Honours) in Business Administration from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.
The yet-to-be-named new airline will be wholly owned by Singapore Airlines but operated independently and managed separately. It will operate widebody aircraft on medium and long-haul routes, which SIA says will enable it to serve a largely untapped new market and cater to the growing demand among consumers for low-fare travel.
The venture in long haul low cost will put SIA in direct competition with two key players in this market.
Australia's low-cost airline Jetstar started flying long-haul in October 2006 and now operates from Australia to Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and the United States; and from Singapore to Australia and New Zealand. And Malaysia's AirAsia X, which started flying in 2007 and now goes to 14 cities, including London, Paris, Seoul and Tokyo as well as destinations in China, India and Australia.
Analysts say that the move into long haul low cost was forced upon SIA as it is seeing yield and load pressure in its coach class leisure market. But they also warn that the low cost venture could further cannibalise its already weak coach class segment on some routes.
This is the second low-cost venture that SIA is getting into. It currently holds a 33 per cent stake in Tiger Airways, but has never involved itself in the operations of that regional budget carrier, until recently.
But when the airline's Australian unit was grounded three weeks for alleged safety infringements, it appointed its founding chairman JY Pillay to head Tiger's board.
It also replaced former CEO Tony Davis with former SilkAir CEO Chin Yau Seng. Mr Davis has been tasked with handling the Australian business. Stewart Adams heads the Singapore operations.
This article was first published in The Business Times.
http://relax.com.sg/relax/news/698412/SIA_appoints_CEO_for_new_low_fare_airline.html
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SIA appoints CEO for new low-fare airline
By Ven Sreenivasan, The Business Times | Wed, Jul 20 2011
He has been with the SIA Group for more than 15 years.
SIA appoints CEO for new low-fare airline
SINGAPORE - Singapore Airlines has appointed New Zealander and Singapore permanent resident Campbell Wilson as the founding CEO of its no-frills, low-fare airline which is set to be launched next year.
Mr Wilson, 40, has been with the SIA Group for more than 15 years and has held positions both overseas as well as in the head office.
He joined SIA in April 1996 in Auckland and held marketing and sales positions in New Zealand as well as Australia. In 2003 Mr Wilson moved to the head office and held positions in the Network Revenue Management and Network Planning departments.
In 2006 Mr Wilson was appointed vice-president Canada, based in Vancouver. In 2008 he was appointed general manager Hong Kong and in 2010 became general manager Japan, based in Tokyo.
"My immediate task is to establish a strong management team and we will be actively recruiting to fill senior positions," said Mr Wilson. "There is huge potential in this new market segment and we can promise many exciting developments from the new airline in the lead-up to our launch next year."
Mr Wilson was born and raised in Christchurch, New Zealand and is a Singapore permanent resident. He has a Master of Commerce (1st Class Honours) in Business Administration from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.
The yet-to-be-named new airline will be wholly owned by Singapore Airlines but operated independently and managed separately. It will operate widebody aircraft on medium and long-haul routes, which SIA says will enable it to serve a largely untapped new market and cater to the growing demand among consumers for low-fare travel.
The venture in long haul low cost will put SIA in direct competition with two key players in this market.
Australia's low-cost airline Jetstar started flying long-haul in October 2006 and now operates from Australia to Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and the United States; and from Singapore to Australia and New Zealand. And Malaysia's AirAsia X, which started flying in 2007 and now goes to 14 cities, including London, Paris, Seoul and Tokyo as well as destinations in China, India and Australia.
Analysts say that the move into long haul low cost was forced upon SIA as it is seeing yield and load pressure in its coach class leisure market. But they also warn that the low cost venture could further cannibalise its already weak coach class segment on some routes.
This is the second low-cost venture that SIA is getting into. It currently holds a 33 per cent stake in Tiger Airways, but has never involved itself in the operations of that regional budget carrier, until recently.
But when the airline's Australian unit was grounded three weeks for alleged safety infringements, it appointed its founding chairman JY Pillay to head Tiger's board.
It also replaced former CEO Tony Davis with former SilkAir CEO Chin Yau Seng. Mr Davis has been tasked with handling the Australian business. Stewart Adams heads the Singapore operations.
This article was first published in The Business Times.
http://relax.com.sg/relax/news/698412/SIA_appoints_CEO_for_new_low_fare_airline.html
