ISTAT Jetrader - Spring 2022 - 11

less common of the senses " ) and a big degree of enthusiasm, I worked my way
through the Airbus system. In 1987, following a reorganization of the commercial
department, I became head of sales for Latin America, Caribbean and Spain, and
it was in this fascinating region that I worked for the rest of my professional life. I
retired at the end of 2018 as president of the Latin America and Caribbean region
at Airbus.
Jetrader: How would you describe Boeing, CASA and Airbus in the 1983/1984
time frame, when you worked for all three?
RA: If I have to describe in a couple of words the three companies that I worked for
during the few months that I transitioned from Boeing to CASA to Airbus, I would
do it in the following manner: Boeing was an " organized organization, " CASA was a
" disorganized disorganization, " and you could define Airbus either as an " organized
disorganization or a disorganized organization. " In particular, at that time, Airbus
Industrie was an extremely politicized company. There were four governments
involved - France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain - in all aspects of
the business. For example, most of the key positions were preassigned to a certain
nationality. In any case, I have to confess that I enjoyed tremendously all the 35
years I worked for Airbus and how I have been part of the transformation of a
relatively small company into what it is today.
Jetrader: You have seen Airbus grow from a small role in the commercial
aircraft market to a leading role across all regions, particularly Latin
America. What was the driver of this success, and what do you see as
your role?
RA: When I joined the commercial department of Airbus back in 1984, there were
only a handful of A300s in service in Latin America. If I remember correctly, there
were only seven in Brazil in VARIG/Cruzeiro and VASP. When I retired from Airbus,
we had more than 700 aircraft in operation in the region and an impressive backlog
of nearly 600. Of course, that was not the result of good luck but a lot of dedication
and understanding of the needs of the customers. When in 1987 I became head of
Latin America and Caribbean, I had the
opportunity to recruit a multinational
team of young, passionate and
dedicated people. A key element for
me was that they had to understand
the particularities of the Latin culture
and speak fluent Spanish and/or
Portuguese. There was no other way to
interact with our customers and be able
to market the fantastic products that
we were manufacturing.
A310s, which had to be repossessed
about a year later due to default on
their payments. Big effort for almost
no reward.
The other campaign worth
mentioning is TACA/TAM/LAN, what
many people in the industry call
the " three amigos deal. " The three
companies were not only privately
owned by families from El Salvador
(TACA), Brazil (TAM) and Chile (LAN), but
members of the families were actively
involved in the day-to-day management
of these companies, which led them to
be very profitable. Looking for leverage
in order to get competitive prices by
placing a big order, they decided to
jointly place an order for almost 100
planes plus 120 options. They put Airbus
and Boeing in competition for singleaisle
A320 or 737 aircraft, as well as
the engine manufacturers CFM and IAE.
It was a very exciting and competitive
campaign that only lasted six months
from the very first meeting until the
memorandum of understanding was
signed in December 1997. At that time,
not only for Latin America, but for the
whole industry, a 100-aircraft deal was
a big number. And, for Airbus, winning
I have to confess that I enjoyed tremendously all the
35 years I worked for Airbus and how I have been part
of the transformation of a relatively small company into
what it is today.
Jetrader: Can you tell us about some
of your more challenging aircraft sales campaigns?
RA: There has not been a single campaign in the region that has not been a real
challenge. Each one of them was different, but at the same time extremely exciting.
If I have to mention a couple of them, I would start with Ecuatoriana, a company
owned by the Ecuadorian Air Force. Every time there was a change of government
or a new commander at the Air Force, we needed to start the campaign all over
again, as most of the airline's top executives would be replaced - and that
happened several times. It was very frustrating, as every decision from their end
was very political. After more than nine years, we were finally able to sell them two
the campaign represented a major step
in what was Boeing's backyard. This
campaign was the turning point and the
start of the dominance of Airbus in the
Latin American and Caribbean market,
and, since then, these three airlines
combined have so far ordered about 700
A320 family aircraft.
Jetrader * SPR I NG 2022 * 11
ISTAT Jetrader - Spring 2022

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