Jetrader - Spring 2016 - 12

Q&A

2016

ISTAT Award
Recipient
JOHN LEAHY

Chief Operating Officer - Customers,
Airbus
ISTAT has selected John Leahy, chief operating officer - customers, Airbus, as the recipient
of the 2016 ISTAT Award. The ISTAT Award is the most distinguished honor in the aviation
industry and was created in 2001 by the association to recognize individuals who have made
lasting contributions to the industry over a significant period of time. The award is bestowed
annually at the ISTAT Americas President's Gala Dinner. Jetrader spoke with Leahy about his
introduction to aviation and his vision for the industry.
Jetrader: Congratulations on your selection for the prestigious ISTAT Award.
You've been called the most successful
aviation salesman - ever. To what do you
attribute your success in this industry?
And what do you love about working in
commercial aviation?
John Leahy: Remember, it's not just
me. I lead a very successful sales team,
and they must get at least as much credit
as I do for the sales success of Airbus. I
have not just grown up in this industry,
I have grown up with it. And I think that
fortunate timing has given me a great perspective on what the commercial aviation
world needed at the moment and what it
needs in the future. I got into aviation
in the 1970s. That was a time of massive
change in the industry - both Airbus
and the 747 entered the marketplace. It
was exciting. Our industry's job then and
now remains what draws me in - to get
everyone to fly.

JT: Looking back, were you interested in
aviation as a child? What sparked your
interest and led you to a career in this field?
JL: I was born in New York City, the indisputable center of transportation in the
United States. I was surrounded by sound
and movement - cars, taxis (drove one
of those during college), subways, trains,
ferries, and of course, three major airports.
Like most kids, I was fascinated by flying
machines, and I turned that fascination
into a multi-engine commercial pilot's
license and a position as a flight instructor while working on my MBA.
JT: When you joined Airbus in 1985,
Boeing and McDonnell Douglas dominated
the commercial aviation manufacturing
sector. Tell us about those early years
and the path you forged to put Airbus
where it stands today.
JL: When Airbus entered the market,
they made a very bold move. The American

12 The official publication of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading

manufacturers controlled about 90 percent of the worldwide large commercial
market. But as we all know, competition
breeds progress, so entering the business
from the other side of the proverbial pond
was not just gutsy, it was good news for
the industry. Jump forward to 1985, and
you see an order of magnitude growth in
that 15 years. The global passenger fleet
doubled in that time. RPKs tripled in that
time. Also in 1985, the trips per capita in
the U.S. were five times the global average.
Did I mention that when I joined Airbus, I
joined as part of the U.S. team? I couldn't
have picked a better time to join Airbus.
Combined with the magic that was happening in the marketplace, my new company
decided shortly before my joining to launch
a little product called the A320. Perhaps
you've heard of it? We hoped to sell 600 or
700. And to date, we're over 12,000.
Move forward another 15 years to 2000.
At this point, I had been based at our headquarters in Toulouse for six years, heading
up our global sales team. By this time,
Airbus had achieved a 50 percent market
share for the first time - and we've kept
that average ever since. It was also a time
when developing economies saw staggering
growth of the middle class, giving birth to

Jetrader - Spring 2016

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