Boutique airline BermudAir is a “highly motivated” company that is trying to do something for the island, according to its newly appointed president.
Nico Buchholz, who is also the deputy chief executive, has a hugely impressive airline industry CV and believes he can use his experience to help build up the airline.
“I’ve run most things in the aerospace industry, so I have a background in all of that. We want to deliver something to Bermuda, but also to the shareholders,” he said.
Mr Buchholz brings more than 30 years of experience and expertise as an aerospace C-suite executive in firms across North America and Europe.
Born in Hamburg, Germany, he began his aviation career in companies including Rolls-Royce Deutschland, where he handled areas such as commercial activities as well as customer support.
His skills cover areas including technical developments for new aviation products, as well as network planning, operations, technical customer support, contract negotiations, strategy, communications, sales and marketing and procurement.
Mr Buchholz also ran the fleet management for all airlines in the Lufthansa group and helped shape the development of the group’s fleets for 15 years.
Asked why, given his background, he joined a small airline like BermudAir, Mr Buchholz pointed to his experience of working with companies when they were relatively small before expanding into huge multinationals.
He pointed to Airbus, where he was employee number 1,108. Today, he said, there were probably 30,000 employees.
“I made my choice a while ago in some of the other jobs I did … to work with people and teams who, like me, are motivated and therefore thrive.”
He said he saw BermudAir as a boutique company that could be built up.
“They are motivated. BermudAir is something which is very specific,” he said.
“It is doing something for the country and that is something which has tempted me.”
On what he would bring to the airline, he said: “Let’s put it this way, do I know how other airlines react, for example, when you do something? Yes, because I’ve been in a small airline and I’ve been in a large airline.”
BermudAir operates two aircraft and Mr Buchholz said one of priorities would be to look at the fleet which, he said, needed to grow.
“So to adapt the fleet is a first step probably. How can we gently grow, not growing like crazy because everything has to be in line with the market and with the financial capabilities.
“Then, look at other markets. BermudAir already does a brilliant job in terms of the number of destinations they have with two aircraft.”
Mr Buchholz was speaking from the UK earlier this week and asked where he would be based, he said: “Because of the fleet issue, it will require a lot of travelling.
“In terms of the time in Bermuda, Bermuda will be probably by predominant location. But that does not mean that I’m there for weeks or months.
“I will be maybe a week in Europe, a week travelling for fleet and other issues, but I will spend a lot of time in Bermuda.”
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Publish date : 2024-07-30 23:00:00
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