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How to build success in the aviation industry

Dublin - In order for an industry - or even a country - to attract business, it must brand itself as a centre of excellence.
 
This was the message of Aengus Kelly, CEO of AerCap, an aviation solutions company, ahead of the start of the 72nd annual general meeting of the International Ai Transport Association (Iata), taking place in Dublin this week.
 
"One must build a world class industry and the current low oil price provides a window of opportunity to build a sustainable cost base," he said.
 
Economist David McWilliams added that about 25 years ago Ireland was seen as just an island stuck in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, but now it has become an advantage in the aviation industry.
 
"It is, of course, important not just to grow an industry, but also to maintain it," he said during a panel discussion about what has made the Irish aviation industry successful.
 
Currently, about half of all the airplane leasing business in the world is done from Ireland. The Irish aviation industry is also seeing "an explosion" in connecting flights on the Tran-Atlantic route.
 
"We realised that there is money to be made in the leasing of airplanes", said Kelly.
 
"The attitude one needs for growing a business is not saying something cannot be done. If you work hard enough, you can make things happen and we did that in the aviation industry."
 
For Stephen Kavanagh, CEO of Aer Lingus, which is hosting this year's AGM, competition plays a big role in the airline industry.
“We benefited from competition as it ensured that we focused on the key of guest experience - of which price, as part of the value definition, forms a big part," he said.
 
"Traditionally the Irish always look for opportunity. We have, for instance got a pre-clear airport for the US so that passengers arrive in the US as if it is a domestic arrival. This we enabled by the use of the right infrastructure we built here."
 
Kevin Toland, CEO of the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) added that looking for partnerships is another key aspect of growing the industry.
 
"We have to compete on an international level for airport operating business and we are even looking at possibilities in Iran, for instance," he said.
 
At the same time the Irish aviation industry has managed to unlock the maintenance and upgrade sector of the value chain.
 
According to Conor McCarthy, executive chair of Dublin Aerospace, the company could unlock the value of the maintenance aspect of aviation for Ireland by working harder and smarter against its competition.
 
"We don't have union involvement and our employees take 10% of the profit each quarter. Their output is also rewarded each month. That has led to 100% efficiency each month," he explained.
 
"We had to take our cost base down 40% to be effective. We do not have company cars or PAs. We even won a contract against Chinese competition on price and quality. We did it by focusing on elimination of waste and the building of efficiency."
 
* Fin24 is a guest of Iata at its AGM.
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