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TIACA AWARDS HALL OF FAME HONOR TO CHRIS FOYLE FOR ‘INNOVATION AND LEADERSHIP’
The Chairman’s Council of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) is to honor Chris Foyle, Chairman and Founder of Air Foyle, with entry to its prestigious TIACA Hall of Fame in recognition of his innovative and professional leadership in the air cargo industry’.
He will officially receive the 2007 Hall of Fame award at TIACA’s Executive Conference and AGM in Cologne, Germany, in April (15-17th).
The TIACA Hall of Fame was established in 1997 to recognize and honor air cargo professionals who have played a role in the progress of aviation and who through their foresight, performance and dedicated have created and grown the industry, which contributes substantially to the global economy.
Dora Kay, Chair of TIACA’S Chairman’s Council, said: “Chris was unanimously nominated and selected by Council members for his many years of innovative and professional leadership in the air cargo industry. We are extremely pleased to induct Chris into the TIACA Hall of Fame”.
TIACA members, industry organizations and the industry press are invited to nominate individuals to be considered for the Hall of Fame. All members of the industry, past and present, are eligible for nomination and the honorees are selected by TIACA’s Chairman’s Council, which includes all past chairman and the current chairman of the Association.
All individuals involved in the air cargo business are eligible to nominate persons for the Hall of Fame.
PROFILE: Chris Foyle
Chris Foyle has been active in the aviation industry for 30 years. Although he was trained and worked in his family’s world renowned book store Foyles, his aviation career started when he began flying gliders at Dunstable while at Radley College and with the Royal Air Force (RAF) section of the Combined Cadet Force (CCF). The CCF promotes responsibility, self reliance, resourcefulness, endurance and perseverance, all for which Chris Foyle is well-noted.
Air Foyle was founded modestly in 1978 with one second hand Piper Aztec that served cargo, passenger and aerial survey charters for the British Isles. One of the company’s principal activities in 1979 was to operate the first regular overnight all cargo service for a courier company/ integrator (Skypak) between the UK and Europe. This later developed into Air Foyle becoming TNT's principal aircraft operator during the period 1987-2000 operating 10 (65% of TNT's fleet) BAe-146 freighters on a nightly scheduled route network around Europe.
In 1982, the company became the UK agent for a German airline operating the Lockheed Hercules aircraft, which provided Chris Foyle with experience of handling outsized cargo and in the same year he placed the first order for the revolutionary new observation aircraft the Edgley Optica which was delivered to Air Foyle in 1985.
After years of negotiation, in 1989 Chris Foyle initiated a partnership with Antonov Design Bureau of the then Soviet Union, and became the exclusive sales agent in the western world for the charter and lease of Antonov 124 giant freighters operated by the Antonov Design Bureau of Kiev. The fleet quickly grew to seven AN124 aircraft as well as two AN-22 (the world’s largest turboprop aircraft) and the only AN-225, the biggest aircraft in the world, carrying unusually heavy and outsized cargo worldwide.
Leased to Air Foyle under a UK Department of Transport permit, the AN-124 aircraft could be operated with British traffic rights worldwide. Air Foyle has carried an extraordinary variety of outsized cargo including a railway locomotive, fire fighting equipment to aid in putting out the fires in the Kuwait oil fields at the end of the Gulf War, yachts in the Americas Cup race, oil drilling equipment, bulldozers, Richard Branson’s Round the World Hot Air Balloon, whole aircraft, generators, transformers, etc, as well as completing large many series of flights for the Defense Ministries and Agencies of nearly all Western governments for the first Gulf War in 1990/91 and more recently to Afghanistan and the Gulf.
In addition Air Foyle and Air Foyle Heavylift provided AN-124 lift for major United Nations missions over the last sixteen years. In October 2001, Air Foyle entered into a joint venture with its former UK competitor, HeavyLift Cargo Airlines to form a new company, Air Foyle HeavyLift which managed the operations of Antonov’s aircraft in the West.
After four years’ experience with the Antonov 124, in 1993, Air Foyle branched out into the passenger business through Air Foyle Passenger Airlines which for seven years managed and operated aircraft for tour operators and airlines including Sunseeker and easyJet, Colorair, Debonair, Air Scandic, Airworld and Virgin Express. Aircraft operated included Boeing 727 and 737 and Airbus A300 and A320.
In late 1993, Air Foyle obtained the prestigious contract from Oil Spill Response to provide Ilyushin IL-76 and Lockheed Hercules aircraft on permanent 24 hour standby ready to respond to an oil spill emergency anywhere in the world.
As an advocate for fair bilateral negotiations, in 1998 Air Foyle joined with three other principal British cargo airlines to form the British Cargo Airline Alliance, chaired by Chris Foyle. The group lobbied the United Kingdom government to ensure that any imbalances in favor of the US cargo carriers were addressed during US/UK bilateral negotiations which he participated in.
In 1999 Air Foyle acquired control of CityJet, the Irish scheduled passenger airline, as it was about to go into receivership. Having commenced its turnaround, Air Foyle subsequently sold its controlling shareholding to Air France.
Chris Foyle was Chairman of TIACA in 1997/1998 and continues as a Trustee to provide his support and expertise to the air cargo industry. In addition, he published the English version of “The History of Air Cargo and Air Mail from the 18th Century” by Camille Allaz in association with TIACA. He has been a frequent speaker at conferences in the US, Europe and the CIS on air cargo, air finance, CIS aviation and virtual passenger airlines.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a Liveryman of the Guild of Air Pilots, a Freeman of the City of London and he was just recently appointed Chairman of The Air League and a Trustee of the Foyle Foundation.
Media contact:
Jamie Roche
JRPR
14 Park Street
Windsor, Berkshire SL4 1LU
T: +44 (0) 1753 621 666
F: +44 (0) 1753 621 888
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