The International Air Transport Association announced that Andres Conesa, CEO of Aeromexico, has assumed his duties as chairman of the IATA Board of Governors for a one-year term, effective immediately. Conesa is the first Mexican to hold this position, Travel Pulse reported.
Conesa succeeds Calin Rovinescu, CEO of Air Canada, whose one-year term expired at the conclusion of the Association’s 71st Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit in Miami, Florida. Rovinescu will continue to serve on the Board of Governors and the Chair Committee.
Conesa has led Aeromexico, Mexico’s largest airline since 2005 after a career spanning several key, finance-related posts in the Mexican public administration. Conesa has served as a member of the IATA Board of Governors since 2008.
“I look forward to taking up the challenges of leading the IATA Board of Governors in the 70th year of this invaluable association. It will be a challenging task in the run-up to the important decisions on climate change. IATA plays a vital role in the aviation industry, managing global settlement systems, spearheading global advocacy efforts and constantly evolving the global standards on which aviation relies. I am eager … to promote the better understanding of aviation among our key stakeholders and to help drive forward important initiatives that will make it ever safer, more efficient and sustainably profitable,” said Conesa.
“I want to extend a hearty thanks to Calin for his strong support and leadership. It was a year of many challenges. In particular, he provided insightful guidance as we grappled with diverse challenges, including aircraft tracking, overflight of conflict zones, Ebola and the continuing issue of blocked funds in Venezuela. And, on his watch, we received approval from the US Department of Transportation for the New Distribution Capability, which will enable a major modernization of the shopping experience for air travel products,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s director general and CEO.
“We will have a busy year ahead as NDC transitions from pilots to the deployment phase, while we continue to work with ICAO on information sharing on conflict zones and the aircraft tracking implementation initiative. Conesa’s international perspective will be key as we put detail to the industry position on market-based measures for the environment,” said Tyler.
