Air Canada appoints inflight chief Jon Turner to head cargo

25/01/2023

Air Canada has appointed Jon Turner, current VP inflight services, to replace Jason Berry as VP cargo, effective February 18.

The appointment comes as the carrier plans to integrate more freighters into its fleet and network.

Mr Turner has held key roles at the airline, including VP maintenance and engineering and was also president and CEO of Sky Regional, as well as EVP of Air Transat. He has also been president of Rouge’s operations.

There is no evidence that he has held any roles in cargo, at a time when Air Canada is undergoing radical change. It now has three 767Fs and is expecting a further seven, while two 777Fs are due in 2024.

The massive transformation into north America’s only combination carrier comes as demand weakens across the market. However, Stan Wraight, president of consultancy SASI World told The Loadstar: ” “I think its very positive, and the right thing to do. What all airlines need in air cargo is leadership, talent, initiative and people skills, and in this case being Canadian is good too.

“Having had the privilege of training more than 200 of Air Canada’s managers in past years, I know there is a lot of good talent still there. If Turner builds a good team, it will succeed with the freighter programme, and anything else, I believe.”

Air Canada said Mr Turner would have “oversight for leading the strategic direction of Air Canada Cargo’s global business, as well as operationalising commercial cargo opportunities to sustainably optimise Air Canada’s long-term business objectives”.