Airline body appoints SA man

By Leon Engelbrecht, ITWeb senior writer

Johannesburg, 23 Jun 2008

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has appointed Lance Brogden, a South African, as regional VP for Africa, with effect from 1July. It has put him in charge of a number of key IT and business improvement processes.

Brogden takes over from Vinod Chidambaram and joins IATA from Air Botswana, where he has been CEO since 2005.

Prior to joining the airline industry, Brogden served as CEO of International Strategic Solutions, from 1999 to 2005, and director of Avis Rent-a-Car, from 1996 to 1999. He was head of strategy consulting with Arthur Andersen and then Coopers & Lybrand during 1994-1996, an IATA statement reads.

As regional VP for Africa, Brogden will oversee all of IATA's initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa in a broad portfolio that includes safety, security, "Simplifying the Business", environment as well as managing IATA's African billing and settlement plan that processes $7 billion annually.

IATA has 23 sub-Saharan African members. The Johannesburg regional office is the focal point, supporting sub-regional offices in Nairobi, Dakar and Lagos.

"With oil at $130 per barrel, it's a tough environment for aviation," says IATA CE and director-general Giovanni Bisignani. "The game has changed completely and the challenges for Africa's carriers are enormous.

"Lance Brogden understands the challenges from the perspective of running an African airline. He brings hands-on experience and innovation to IATA's African team at a critical juncture. I am confident Lance will deliver results that contribute to the successful development of air transport in this region - an industry that supports 430 000 jobs and $9 billion in economic activity in Africa."

Brogden says his top priority will be safety. "With 4.3 accidents per million flights, flying in Africa is six times less safe than the global average." He adds that to combat this, IATA is investing $8.2 million in safety programmes tailored for African carriers.

IATA brings together 230 member airlines, accounting for 93% of all international scheduled air traffic.