Air Canada Rouge President Reveals the Secrets to Success

The ASA keynote speaker this week was Air Canada Rouge President Jon Turner. Turner was most recently the Air Canada Vice President of Maintenance and Engineering, which makes him significantly better educated about aftermarket issues than most air carrier presidents.

I had a chance to ask Turner what he felt was the “secret” of the success of his maintenance and engineering program.

Turner explained that the simple answer revolves around simplifying, communicating, and staying focused.

He explained that many complicated plans fail in their implementation; but by simplifying the plans, you can better ensure that your team understands the plan, and the goals. Adequate communication is equally important at both a strategic level (so your team understands the plan) and at the tactical level (so your team is all working together).

But staying focused on the plan can be the greatest challenge of all. There are many distractions that circumvent your focus. At Air Canada, Turner kept his team focused on customer service, maintaining a good culture, and controlling costs. This simple focus, supported by adequate communication, allowed his team to excel and to achieve their reliability goals.

Turner explained that there is one more key to a successful program. You must never believe that you’ve achieved your goals. Instead, you must accept that you will always be striving to be better. Constant life-long improvement may the most important factor in success.