Charter, scheduled and specialist flight operator Cobham Aviation Services Australia has appointed new managing directors and a head of southeast Australia, as it continues its growth journey.
Cobham CEO, John Boag, says in a press release that: “We are progressively making positive changes at Cobham to ensure we have the right people leading our teams to deliver on our growth objectives, enhance operational outcomes and advance customer engagement.”
James Woodhams will be the new managing director of special mission, overseeing airborne surveillance and search-and-rescue operations. He joined Cobham last year as the chief transformation officer and played a key role in the structural realignment of the business over the past 18 months, Cobham says.
“He will now focus on the cultural alignment of our workforce and the growth of Cobham special mission,” adds Boag.
Claude Alviani, who is an Australian defence force flying instructor and commercial air transport pilot licence holder, has been appointed to the role of managing director of regional services, overseeing charter, fly-in fly-out (FIFO) and freight services, says Cobham.
With more than 40 years of aviation experience, he has worked in senior leadership roles with aviation companies providing offshore transport services for petroleum operators, the resource sector and government agencies, it adds.
“Alviani’s experience positions him to lead Cobham regional services with its ongoing fleet renewal program and continued focus on growth in the charter and FIFO market,” Boag adds.
Phil Hood joins the company’s charter and FIFO division in a newly created role based in Adelaide as head of southeast Australia regional services, says Cobham He has more than two decades of experience in airport management for major national and international airlines, across seven international and Australian destinations, it says.
“Prior to joining Cobham, he was the airport services manager for Emirates. He has a great understanding of the passenger experience and is already working with our internal teams and customers to enhance services and improve the overall experience,” Boag says.
In a separate development, aircraft lessor TrueNoord says in a statement that Cobham has signed a six-year operating lease on an additional Embraer 190 that it will use for charters. It says the aircraft was previously leased to Taiwan’s Mandarin Airlines.
Cobham’s business development director, Tim Pirga says, Cobham had been progressively modernising and expanding its fleet, introducing E-190 jets and De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Dash8-400 turboprops to provide its clients with greater flexibility of rosters, suitability for paved and unpaved regional aerodromes, increased reliability and low carbon emissions.
“This latest E-190 brings our number of these aircraft types to three and we are pleased that it will shortly be conducting its inaugural passenger flight in Australia,” he adds.
A Cobham spokesperson says the fleet consists of: four Bombardier Challenger 604s, five Dash 8-400s, three E-190s, three Avro RJ100s, four BAe 146s and ten smaller model Dash-8s. The smaller model Dash 8s are used for maritime surveillance.
Picture from Cobham shows (left to right) Claude Alviani, James Woodhams, and Phil Hood.
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