The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has appointed Willy Boulter as Regional Vice President for Asia-Pacific.

As Regional Vice President, Boulter will be responsible for Member and Government Relations, and will oversee all IATA’s initiatives in Asia-Pacific.  Boulter brings to IATA over 30 years of industry experience, including 20 years with Cathay Pacific in various positions in Hong Kong, Canada, India, Japan, the Philippines, and the USA.  Boulter joins IATA from Gulf Air where he was the Chief Commercial Officer. Prior to Gulf Air, Boulter was Chief Executive of Sky Express, Russia’s first low cost carrier, and had held senior management appointments at Virgin Atlantic Airways and South African Airways.

“I welcome Willy to IATA at a critical moment for aviation. After a decade in which the global industry lost an average of US$5 billion a year, cutting costs and improving efficiency is a global challenge. At the same time, we must look forward with optimism for Asia Pacific’s future as a leading player. Last year travel within Asia eclipsed North America as the world’s largest market.  Willy will lead IATA’s support for this growing region across the full spectrum of industry issues,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

“I am excited to return to Asia-Pacific, where I spent the first 20 years of my career. Asia Pacific is the future of this industry and the place that I feel most at home. With the IATA Asia Pacific team, my priority is to deliver regional leadership on global industry challenges. IATA brings solutions to meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities generated by the region’s growth. These include improving service and cutting costs with Simplifying the Business, global standards on safety with IOSA and ISAGO and a united industry target to tackle environment with a 50% net reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 2005,” said Boulter.

Asia-Pacific is today the world’s largest aviation market.  In 2009, 647 million people flew within Asia-Pacific markets. This is larger than the 638 million who travelled within North America in the same year. By 2013, growth will result in an additional 217 million people flying within Asia-Pacific accounting for almost a third of the global industry.

The mission of IATA is to lead, represent and serve the airline industry. IATA brings together some 230 member airlines, including the world’s largest.  Flights by these airlines account for 93% of all international scheduled air traffic.