After more than five years leading the airline alliance oneworld, Bruce Ashby is to step down.
The oneworld Governing Board begins, after accepting Ahby’s resignation, an appointment process to fill his position. Candidates from within the alliance and from outside will be considered.
Announcing his decision to move on, Bruce Ashby said: “It has been a privilege to lead oneworld and work with its collection of the world’s leading airlines, but after five years in this role it makes sense for me to move on at this time.”
Since taking up his oneworld role in December 2010, as its central alliance team relocated from Vancouver to New York, Bruce Ashby has headed the group through the biggest and fastest expansion undertaken by any global airline alliance. During this time, oneworld added more than 15 carriers as full or affiliate members, expanding the alliance’s capacity by almost 60 per cent and its annual passenger carryings by 75 per cent.
New members included: TAM Airlines (Brazil), US Airways, Qatar Airways, airberlin, Malaysia Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, as well as LAN Colombia and OpenSkies (among the additional significant affiliate members).
Ashby leaves his position when oneworld has consolidated its standing as the world’s most awarded airline alliance, as the current holder of eight best airline alliance titles, twice as many as its competitors combined
Before joining the alliance, Bruce Ashby had been CEO of IndiGo, leading what has since become India’s biggest airline for its initial three years, at its formation and through its launch, and then CEO of Saudi Arabian start-up SAMA Airlines. Previously, he worked for 16 years in the US airline industry, holding senior positions with US Airways, United Airlines and Delta Airlines.
oneworld Governing Board Chairman Ivan Chu, CEO of Cathay Pacific, added: “Bruce Ashby has led oneworld through a period of tremendous transformation, as the alliance added many more great member airlines, introduced more attractive services and benefits for our most loyal customers and increased the revenues generated for all our member airlines. On behalf of us all, I thank him for his outstanding contribution and for offering to stay on as we identify his successor.”
Image over the headline.- Bruce Asby ex CEO oneworld. ©oneworld.
