The new chief executive of Australian low-cost carrier Tigerair has used a key address at the annual Centre for Aviation conference to highlight the lack of diversity in the industry.
Merren McArthur, Australia’s only female airline CEO, said women held just 3 per cent of chief executive roles in the aviation industry, compared with 12 per cent in other industries.
Ms McArthur said the lack of diversity not only related to gender, but also to ethnicity, age and culture.
“We tend to see aviation as so unique and special, it can only be run by aviation industry veterans,” she said.
“This insularity could mean aviation is missing out on what the industry has previously been renowned for — leading edge innovation.”
Ms McArthur also tackled the challenges of overcoming the perception of low-cost carriers as “cheap and nasty”, pointing to the success of pioneering LCC South West Airlines.
“Their success was not directly attributable to fares, but the striking uniforms worn by cabin crew and the positive culture which all made the experience memorable for travellers,” she said.
“South West took this business model mainstream and wherever they flew to, prices fell and passenger numbers grew.”
By the end of 2019, Tigerair will have replaced its fleet of A320s with Boeing 737s, which will be able to carry an extra six passengers per flight.
Ms McArthur said this would deliver a “little bit of extra revenue” that would be “much appreciated”.
But she would not be drawn on the timing of Tigerair tackling another overseas route, following its short-lived Bali service.
However, Ms McArthur did indicate any new international venture was more likely to involve New Zealand than Indonesia.
“I haven’t got any plans at the moment, because there’s plenty of room to optimise and improve our domestic operation. Once I’ve done that I’ll move to look at what other market opportunities exist, but that’s still 12 months away.”