Who the Hell????

[El Kabong]

Please excuse my ignorance, but who the hell is this bloke Harbison from the centre for asia pacific aviation (or something like that), The press just love to quote him. Please explain.:confused:

[OZBUSDRIVER]

He has been around since before Compass 1. He hasn't learnt anything since then and still not worth listening to now.:ugh:

[Howard Hughes]

Self appointed aviation expert I believe, like the rest of us...;)

[Mike773]

In NZ they used to love to pull Les Bloxham from whatever bush he used to live under and quote him every time. And every time everything he said was complete cr*p. Cut from the same cloth, I'd say.

Having said that, haven't heard from Mr. Bloxham in a long time. Thank goodness....

National Radio in NZ often talks to a guy in Perth who's something to do with Air Transport World magazine. (At least they used to.) He was much better! :)

[Wiley]

Harbison is the guy who masterminded the "king hit" on Compass #1 on behalf of one Cur Pytor Abeles, and shut the airline down on Christmas Eve, thus saving AN from certain ruin. (Senior AN management later admitted that the company would have been bankrupt within two weeks had Compass not closed down when it did, on about the second most busy (read: 'profitable') day of the airline year.)

I'm sure there's someone out there in Pprooneland who has a copy of the operations order Harbison prepared for that little 'op'. Perhaps they could post it here for all to see.

It made me feel I should learn to speak Spanish - as it proved that with the Silver Bodgie and later, his Darth Vader sidekick at the helm, we Ozmates were actually living in a Banana Republic.

[illusion]

Sounds like that 65 yo twit from Bunbury with 30,000 hours on C152's. They used to call him for opinions on everything from MU-2 crashes to the space shuttle.

[Swingwing]

You know what? Sometimes the people on this board really give me the $hits.

The amount of whinging and expert commentary here from those whose skills start and finish with flying aircraft never ceases to amaze me. We have pilots who are legal experts, management experts, HR experts, IR experts, business experts - you name it (and usually all in one). There is always a pundit who knows more than everybody else. There are cabin crew (just for example) who appear to genuinely believe that their understanding of airline management eclipses that of of the combined teams of Emirates, Singapore and QANTAS. There are Cessna pilots who think they know more about the economics of airlines than sharemarket analysts.

Now we have people leaping into print to bag Peter Harbison - most of whom undoubtedly haven't ever met him or bothered to read his CV. Here it is:

PETER HARBISON

Peter Harbison is Managing Director of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, a specialist aviation management consulting company.
Peter is one of the region’s foremost aviation and tourism strategists and commentators, speaking regularly at major international airport and airline events. He regularly provides analyses on commercial industry matters, the inter-relationship between aviation and tourism, government policy development, bilateral structures and infrastructure requirements.
He has over 30 years’ experience in the aviation industry, having worked with the Australian Department of Aviation, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in Montreal and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in Geneva.
With 15 years’ specialist aviation consulting experience, he has worked on a wide range of high level strategic projects, from international aviation policy development, airport and airline privatisation, and airline advisory work and business planning to airport pricing strategies for airports.
The Centre performs a wide range of consulting assignments in the Asia Pacific region and elsewhere. These include airline restructuring, airport and airline privatisation, airport marketing and advice, advices to government agencies on policy, bilateral and multilateral issues, airline startup business planning and implementation, traffic forecasting and airline management education.
The Centre also presents significant industry conferences on such issues as low cost airlines and industry outlook. A major event was recently held in January 2005 in Singapore. The Centre’s specialist aviation publications are widely read throughout the world.
Peter was until recently Chairman of IATA’s World Aviation Regulatory Monitor Group and is immediate past President of the Aviation Law Association of Australia and New Zealand.
He is Managing Director of a tourism development company and sits on a number of industry committees providing advice on tourism and aviation policy. He is a law graduate of London and Melbourne Universities, with an LLM from McGill University's Institute of Air and Space Law.


If Harbison was in the cockpit telling you lot how to run the FMS or how much fuel you needed, there'd be hell to pay. But he isn't. He's started a successful consultancy (look at their website to see the clients they have, and the extensive work they've done in starting LCCs in India and elsewhere) and is in demand by the media because he is articulate and informed.

There are people who hate him because of his perceived role in Compass (edit: Wiley beat me to it) - but if you don't agree with him, then try a bit of reasoned argument to rebut his perspectives, rather than abuse and denigration.

(Not having a go at you El Kabong, you just asked a question - but there was another thread along these lines a while ago which featured similar disparaging comments from the great unqualified).

Disclaimer: I have met Harbison and think he's a nice bloke. I also find his commentary in the media to be a good perspective.

Rant over. Swingwing out.

[slice]

Hmmmm... ok but the two words that seem to come out there are Lawyer and Consultant.

Also has anyone seen the nice photos of said subject handing out an award to Adam Air management last year at an LCC bash (in Singapoore I think).:rolleyes:

[YesTAM]

Sorry, threadcreep, tried to restrain myself, but I escaped.

You know what? Sometimes the people on this board really give me the$hits.................................................... ......................................

The amount of whinging and expert commentary here from those whose skills start and finish with flying aircraft never ceases to amaze me. We have pilots who are legal experts, management experts, HR experts, IR experts, business experts - you name it (and usually all in one). There is always a pundit who knows more than everybody else.
Ooooh! I think I've been paid a compliment by Swingy!

I'm considered a pylut!

I thought I was just an old git with a lifetime of business and management experience indulging in a second childhood fantasy.....Like a mate of mine who is a QC and completed his GFPT a few months ago.

There are people here Mr. Swingy who have plenty of experience outside the cockpit and occasionally try and contribute something of that in the interests of more informed debate. You might wish to remember Danny's warning about who you think you might be talking to.

P.S. Your faith in sharemarket analysts is touching.....but pathetic.:D

[Quokka]

I know a successful Sharemarket Analyst very well who, when Paladin was around $1.50/share told me that "it's not worth anything"... when I wanted to invest in a methane gas exploration company in WA told me "you've got no idea"... and an Australian oil company in the Timor Sea... "what if they only pump sand and water?"...

In the last six months I've made $95,000 doing the complete opposite of what that Sharemarket Analyst recommended.

[YesTAM]

Like when Cochlear was floated and I asked my private client adviser for an allocation of 1000 at $2.00. He went sheepish and explained that they hadn't been part of the underwriting. What are they now? $60.00?

I reckon Qantas is a "buy" right now.

[rodney rude]

Swingwing

Lighten up mate. Stop pontificating as though you are the only educated, done well for yourself dude on the forum.

Your "rants" as you call them often, to me, have an air of self perceived superiority to them.

Give up the continual formal lectures from your oversized podium that you constantly place on Prune. You bore me.

[Swingwing]

YesTam,
I'm sorry you thought that was in any way directed at you - quite the contrary in fact. I've found your comments on the QF bid and associated stuff really interesting (the hollow log thesis etc sounds spot on).

I made the mistake in my post of associating people's occupation / skill set with their knowledge or ability to comment, which wasn't my point at all. Everyone has a right to put their view, regardless of what they do or where they come from.

I was (perhaps rather clumsily) seeking to suggest that a little more informed debate - rather than pointless criticism - would be (to my mind at least) really worthwhile.

ie " Darth is a f%^&wit :ugh: "
is an opinion. Hard to engage much with that or carry on a useful discussion - whereas:

"Dixon is an appalling CEO, because he:
A:
B:
C:"

is a reasoned argument. People who don't agree can at least engage in that debate on some substantive grounds.

As I said, your posts are a model of the latter, and I learn lots from them - so I apologise once again if you felt that my comments were aimed at you.

I operate on the principle that I wouldn't say anything on here that I wouldn't be prepared to say to the person's face - which again means I try to support my arguments with some facts.

Rodney - thanks for the free character assessment.

SW

[international hog driver]

I worked with Harbison for over a year as an “advisor to the consultant” when he was still in private practice and the CAPA was in its infancy the words “Lawyer and Consultant” say it all.

He was heavily involved in “Sewn Up” which was the working name of the project that did kill of Compass Mk 1, don’t know if he was the mastermind but he was definitely guiding the marks to “check mate”.

On a personal level, I can concur the “nice bloke” sentiment but you never can trust the quiet ones….. can you.

You are very correct on the point that he has no idea what it really takes to operate from the pointy end, but he does network the big end of town and like all big company are “legal” driven and all the 3rd floor people need their lawyers don’t they (especially now :o)

From a personal perspective 15 years down the track, if the airlines paid the crews the equivalent of what they have paid “consultants” to be told what they already new, and actually listened to those at the coal face then we as drivers would all be a lot better off.

As others have said already in this thread – rant over -.