New CEO for Skywest

[outback aviator]

:eek: Scott Henderson has just been announced as the new CEO
for Skywest Airlines, ex United Airlines administration with tertiary qualifications in business management.

Anyone heard of him????????:cool:

[detached observer]

No, but an observation: prior CEO package was reported to be worth several milllion dollars over the term. Assume this CEO would be in same region $$$, how can this be afforded by a 3(or4?) turboprop operation? Consider revenue that can be raised by a small turbo prop fleet - I would think no where near what is needed to justify a salary of this size.

[gaunty]

Good luck Scottt whoever you are.

Just a word, the learning curve around here in this very unique market with the longest thinnest route structure in the world is, for the beginner, asymptotic.

I think the Board fell for it.

Throw away every thing you learned at United and Business School and just listen carefully before you unpack your bags.

And remember this sure as hell ain't Kansas.:rolleyes:

[geoffrey thomas]

Met him on Friday and he is impressive and good for the airline. My take is that he will do a great job if he has board/shareholder support, which I think he has. Has an excellent track record but so did Bill Meeke. Anyway this is the article we wrote in today's west for those out of state.
Best GT




New chief plots Skywest course

By Geoffrey Thomas



SKYWEST Airlines has taken the first step in turning around nearly three months of negative publicity about its management team with yesterday's appointment of former United Airlines executive Scott Henderson as chief executive.

The airline is tipped to further strengthen its aviation credentials by soon announcing additions to its board, including former QantasLink general manager Grant Pittman.

Mr Henderson, 40, brings a background in corporate and international airline experience to the airline which has been hampered by senior management and board disagreements.

The disagreements culminated in the sacking of former chief executive Bill Meeke from the board of Skywest last week.

Mr Henderson said yesterday he believed Skywest was an extremely sound business and his goal was to unlock shareholder value by increasing the focus on customers to lift business.

Mr Henderson's track record with United Airlines led to his rapid rise in the world's biggest airline where he headed up international strategy at the head office in Chicago.

Before that appointment Mr Henderson headed United's operations in Victoria, with key responsibility for developing the airline's business activities in the State and driving strategic projects throughout Australia and the South Pacific division.

He achieved a 50 per cent growth in corporate sales and developed new routes for United, including direct flights from Melbourne to the west coast of the United States.

Mr Henderson, who will take up his position on October 23, said yesterday one of his main priorities was to work with the WA Government and tourist bodies to ramp up the flow of tourists within the State.

"We are also going to be looking to work with airlines such as Emirates and Singapore Airlines on taking international passengers on to regional centres beyond Perth," he said.

That could require the introduction of frequent flyer programs.

Mr Henderson said his brief was to develop the airline's growth strategy but he was also hands on when it came to evolving a passenger product that was world class for a regional airline.

"It is essential that we have a customer focus of excellence that will also help lift staff morale," he said.

Skywest chairman Pat Ryan was delighted with the appointment.

"Obtaining such a capable and professional airline professional was a significant coup for the WA regional airline. Scott has a detailed, working understanding of the drivers of success in the airline industry," Mr Ryan said.

"He brings the necessary blend of commercial and airline industry experience to lead Skywest's skilled management team to the goal of becoming Australia's leading regional airline."

Mr Ryan declined to confirm Mr Pittman would join the Skywest board.

[gaunty]

Geoffrey

Thanks for the article, I do sincerely hope he does well, but as you know the West Oz regional market is like NO other in the world.

The handle winding part of the business is easy, it's the turning of straw into gold that is the hard bit.

Unless you have serious megabucks, the destination infrastructure needs to pull the airline along as the airline can not push it on its own.

Did you get my mail?

[geoffrey thomas]

Dear Gaunty: Agree that Skywest has it work cut out and part of the problem is that it has is work out where it sits in the market. It has NJS/Qantaslink above it in capacity and capability and Skippers snapping at its heels with a lower cost operation. On the upside it has some turbo prop routes that it may or may not keep a monolpy on. The appointments of Scott Henerson and Grantr Pittman are being viewed in a positive light in Government circles, which will help the airline retain that monoply position.
Re the mail, yes I did and thanks...still digesting. Will get back to you.
Best GT

[Capn Bloggs]

Gaunty,

It may be you who doesn't know much about flying around here. GP was the whiz that got Airlink humming in WA: had he not been hamstrung by the bureaus, he/we could have gone to the stars.

With him involved with Skywest, I would strongly suggest NJS watch their backs! Hordes of the greatest jets ever built may soon be overtaking them swinebats!

[gaunty]

And I'll say it again, there are only so many passengers to go around in WA, they are all a long way apart and are already serviced to their economic limits.

There is no magic fix for that, GPs undoubted skills notwithstanding.

BTW, I missed out on why GP is no longer working for Qantaslink, but his contacts there cant do Skywest any harm.

Amazing isn't it, it's always those wretched bureaucrats that stop us from reaching the stars.:rolleyes:

B717s v swinebat, no contest, can't deny they are a great ship and QF should say a daily prayer that Impulse shotgunned them into the type. I suspect that they wouldn't have been able to work it out themselves, given the monolithic nature of the organisation then.

The trick is to fill the seats, flying them is the real easy part.

[Stick Pusher]

Well Gaunty,

It's a shame that Skywest couldn't have had you as their new CEO considering that there is no one in the world that would be remotely qualified to head a company in WA but yourself. I mean, why they didn't look at you amazes me. What was the board thinking? Was it because they couldn't find you? Or because they couldn't afford you? Maybe was it because of your extensive airline experience that you weren't available at the time because of your consulting commitments to the worlds leading airlines...?

I think your post on the 11th sums it up and and says it all. I can't be bothered to shred that one to bits...




P.S would you like a photo of you in the jump seat of the F-100 to show your grand kids...?

[Stick Pusher]

Detached Observer.

Facts that need correcting. 5x F-50 with 1x F-100 arriving next month... and the possibility of more to come. Some possibilities in the future that maybe this new CEO will try to capture and earn his keep, we'll just have to wait and see what he can do and where it will go over the next 18 months etc...

I'm on a roll here...;)

GT, yet again, you never cease to amaze me.

'SKYWEST Airlines has taken the first step in turning around nearly three months of negative publicity about its management team '

I believe the neg pub has all been generated by your good self. You keep bringing things up from the past in each article just to fill your word quota per article it would seem. It wouldn't have rated nearly as much if it hadn't been beacuse you kept going on about it. Storm in a tea cup really.

and...

'Has an excellent track record but so did Bill Meeke '

I wouldn't compare the two by a long way. Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't BM been shall we say 'let go' by Skywest Aviation, and Skywest Airlines? (Don't know if there has been others). Also I believe his Ceramic Tile business wasn't a winner by a long shot to say the least.

I, along with others can see that, how do I put it?, have read many an article of yours and to those outside the industry it may seem unbiased, but if you took two steps back and realise how scandalous alot of your writing has been, it buts in to doubt to me how much one should belive in newspapers as a whole. The are those within Skywest, and to those outside as well who I have spoken to and are of the same opinion. I'm not going to get into a drawn out post with this, or my fingures will start to bleed, but if you report it and publish it in public then you should be open to criticism and that is my opinion...

Constructive I hope, but just take a step back and have a good look.
;)

[gaunty]

Stick Pusher

You should be congratulated for your loyalty to and defence of your employer.

Thank you for your kind offer of a photo to show my grandkids, should I be so lucky as to have some, but I have enough of them with me in the LHS of some pretty fancy gear, should I feel sufficiently compelled to stroke my ego in doing so.

Speaking as one who actually developed the commuter routes around West Oz turned over by MMA in the late sixties when they went to F27s, alongside my worthy competitor Denny Howe of what was then Civils, that are now serviced by Skywest. I'll spare you the story of how that came to be, but there is not much new that you, Meeke or Henderson for that matter can teach me.

Didn't stick my head up for the CEO job, not nearly clever enough, I was hiding in plain sight and no I wasn't busy consulting to the worlds airlines.
Could they afford me, probably, given the amounts punted around.:rolleyes:
I rather thought Bob Mason would have been an excellent fit for experience and knowledge of the peculiarities in West Oz, but I guess he may have come to the same conclusion as I or if he did he knew too much.:)

Mr Ryan has a nonpareil business reputation but is a bit light on airline experience, the rest I'm sure are very enthusiastic and excited, but I fear the horse has already bolted as far as jet operations are concerned for the medium to long term.

The Government are playing the same game that Governments of both persuasions have played from time immemorial, in this State anyway.

As GT avers

On the upside it has some turbo prop routes that it may or may not keep a monolpy on. The appointments of Scott Henerson and Grantr Pittman are being viewed in a positive light in Government circles, which will help the airline retain that monoply position.

Yup it's great having a monopoly on routes that are barely viable with little or no growth possible. If it was otherwise, they would not need to provide the monopoly. It's really pretty simple stuff. Except there is a light but I'm not sure anyone has seen it.

GT again;
It has NJS/Qantaslink above it in capacity and capability and Skippers snapping at its heels with a lower cost operation.

Tell me that ain't true.

The miners and oil and gas people are the key to where the money is.

FIFO (guess who started that up, again helped by that worthy Denny) is their real problem leaching away the core traffic from their RPT routes.

Their new friends, the Government are also their enemies on this one.

In case they didn't notice, I gave them a BIG free kick in a recent Coroners hearing.
The Coroner as a result of a submission to and my evidence, recommended that ALL FIFO passengers should be transported in "transport category equipment" (big kids aircraft to you) to "airline standards".
Guess who owns the bulk of the mining and oil and gas RPT routes and "transport category" equipment servicing them.
Now I dont imagine they will send me a fat consulting fee, which would in any event be returned, because that was not my motivation, but I would be happy to field a call to explain what it means to them, I will however, not be holding my breath.

In regard to GT, I think he is perfectly capable of defending himself, if indeed this is necessary.
You say;
Constructive I hope, but just take a step back and have a good look.

Good advice indeed and that is exactly what GT does when he writes, you, and sometimes I, may not like or agree with what we read, but he has rarely got it wrong.

But if you've been around as long as he and I have then you have a real appreciation for the meaning of deja vu.

I think your post on the 11th sums it up and and says it all. I can't be bothered to shred that one to bits...

Cmon don't be lazy, lets hear about it.:D

[geoffrey thomas]

Stick-Pusher:
Sorry you have taken such a view and this is possibly because you may not be aware of some of the aspects of the fight between BM and the shareholders of Skywest.

You claim that I have been negative to Skywest. Well let’s get the record straight.
1. I knew about the boardroom tussle back in April but elected not write about it because I thought it would be destructive.
2. I knew the airline was losing money from day one but that was to be expected BUT didn’t write about it UNTIL the Financial Review “broke the news” that the airline was trouble just before they tipped BM out. So it was not as you suggest the West that started the negative publicity it was the Fin Review.
3. The first I knew that BM was to be dumped was a phone call 30 minutes before the July meeting. We were refused entry but the Fin Review and ABC were in on proxies.
4. After that dumping we tried to get the various parties in Skywest to comment to get balance but to no avail. Only recently have they employed serious PR people.
5. Our paper was able to print more of the BM “Letter to Shareholders” but we chose not to as we figured the publicity would damage the airline. In fact we never intended to write anything on it until Skywest slapped an injunction on the paper and that forced the publicity.
6. We also left the hydraulic line fiasco alone for the same reason. Remember the “we blow hydraulic lines all the time” quote?
7. I have written about the negative effect of losing Western Mining because it is simple fact. Take away WM and you take away one F-50.
8. With regard to BM’s Tile Business that is a fascinating story and clearly you are not privy to the real story which is heading for the courts. I cannot comment on the details of that case but BM will win and win easily. It will be a huge story if its gets that far but my sense is that he will get an out of court as the publicity would be devastating to a certain party.

Stick Pusher, you may not agree with what I write and what I write sometimes is restrained because of legal issues or space constraints. We are also writing for lay audience who may not understand the aviation industry.

With regard to the first par of the story,…….“SKYWEST Airlines has taken the first step in turning around nearly three months of negative publicity about its management team with yesterday's appointment of former United Airlines executive Scott Henderson as chief executive.”……

I didn’t write it this way it was altered by our sub editors and we have little or no control over this aspect. That also goes for cutting of articles, headlines, photos and captions.

I certainly can understand and respect the passion of the Skywest staff who are desperate to keep their jobs. My job is to report what is happening and if there is a board room battle or you lose a valuable contract we will report it and then sometimes write a piece suggesting what may happen after we discuss with a number of people in the industry.

Whether you like BM or not he has an outstanding record in the industry and has never lost a fight yet and that includes the NT and Federal Government. And the battle with Skywest shareholders is a long, long way from over.

Anyway thanks for the criticism…GT

[Torres]

The stick goes both ways. Some push, some pull and some possibly don't know the difference. :D

In aviation there are also those of us that have achieved, those that will achieve, and those that will only ever dream about it. :D

[RaTa]

On the surface it would seem that Mr Henderson has all the credentials to run an airline but I'm perplexed, why would someone who is supposed to be doing so well with a large international airline want to jump ship to be CEO at a tiny airline that is having difficulties? :confused:
No malice is intended by my question, I'm just curious. After all it is a big career change.