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Flying coloursJohn Patterson is the Managing Director for GB Airways.
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 | | John Patterson, Managing Director of G.B. Airways, looking relaxed |
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15.06.2005 - He began working for the company five years ago after working for British Airways for 29 years. He is based in England but his job means that he has to travel a lot – wherever GB Airways fly to, John is there. It sounds an exciting life but John seems to be a man who enjoys being at home. He is married with three children and a grandson who he adores. His wife travels with him when she can but not as much as they would both like. He is an avid supporter of Sheffield Wednesday football team and in his spare time he loves to watch his favourite team play and to do a nice bit of gardening. To say that John is the Managing director for a very successful airline, he isn’t quite what you would expect – he’s down-to-earth, friendly and informal. And, after a life of working in the aviation business, he still manages to come across as enthusiastic about his work and answers every question with a smile. He has worked his way up the ladder and his jobs within British airways have included personnel officer, director of strategy and alliances and running operations at Heathrow airport - and he’s enjoyed every minute of it. “It’s a great career” he declares.
GB Airways is a family owned company that started as Gibraltar Airways in 1931. The company pioneered flights across the straits of Gibraltar to Tangier with a Saro Windhoever amphibian aircraft. In 1947 the airline began working with British European Airways (now known as British Airways) who would provide scheduled flights to and from Gibraltar whilst Gibraltar Airways would be responsible for the links between Gibraltar and Morocco. For 30 years Airways operated scheduled services from Gibraltar and the airline then secured their own licence to operate the London route. In the late 1980`s they moved their headquarters to Gatwick airport and changed their name to GB Airways Ltd. In February 1995 the company became a British Airways franchise carrier. They carried more than 1.2 million passengers in 2000/2001 and are expecting to carry over two million this year.
The incredible story of GB Airways is one of growth and family values and John has enjoyed the move from the bigger British Airways to the smaller company. GB Airways has a fleet of 15 planes but have plans to continue expanding. They currently fly to 29 destinations across southern Europe, North Africa and France. Included in that number are three destinations in the Canaries – Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote.
John is happy to extol some of the advantages that GB Airways has over other companies, for instance, their planes have 31 inches of leg room (the normal is 28), the baggage allowance is also higher, under most circumstances it is possible to change bookings without an extra charge, food and drinks are included in the price, the planes are fully equipped to take wheelchairs and stretchers and, last but not least, their prices are very competitive. “You’ve got to look after people” John says, which seems an idealistic approach to business, but one that it appears both John and GB Airways truly believe in.
The airline has been one of the main providers of England – Tenerife links and is heavily involved in a promotions campaign for Tenerife in England. The campaign is a joint venture between the airline and SPET (the Tenerife Tourist board) which is being equally funded by both groups. John is particularly impressed with SPET saying that they are one of the best groups of their kind that he has worked with.
The advertising campaign will be on television, radio, posters and in the press and should bring very positive results. John is convinced that tourism in the Canaries, especially Tenerife, will make a huge come back in the future, “that’s why GB airways are investing so much time and money in the island” he says with a big smile on his face. The amount of flights that GB airways provide between England and Tenerife has grown to 21 a week in winter and nine a week in summer since the airline first started the link in the year 2000 and John sees no reason why it shouldn’t continue to be developed – their service has already grown by 350 per cent in the last five years. One comforting fact that he stated was that a few weeks ago he was surprised and pleased to realize that there were a total of 30 flights from Manchester airport, alone, to Tenerife. So, hopefully John’s optimism is a sign of things to come.
The last time John visited Tenerife was 18 months ago and he is impressed with the development of the island, especially in the Costa Adeje area. He’s convinced that the Tenerife market will be the backbone of his company within the next few years. John is pleased about the new runway that is being added at Reina Sofia Airport in the south of Tenerife saying that it will be of great benefit to the island. And, talking about the fact that the Tenerife council would like to take over the running of the airports from AENA, (The association of Spanish airports and aerial navigation) he is confident that Tenerife would be able to make the change over in an efficient manner. He would love to push the north of Tenerife more but admits the market isn’t quite ready for it yet. Although he doesn’t rule out though that that is one of the ways forward for the future though.
GB Airways is now a franchise of British Airways which means they have all the benefits of being a family firm and all the benefits of being affiliated to a larger firm. And John says it works well for them both and he has, in fact, been instrumental in the lengthening of the franchise agreement until 2010.
The company has recently opened a new base in Manchester airport meaning that they can now provide direct flights from the north of England to Spain and the Canaries. Other plans for the company include expanding their area of the longer, short haul routes. The internet has also had a positive effect on the company – bookings with GB Airways are made through the British Airways web site which is the third most visited site in the U.K. Around 28 per cent of GB Airways bookings are now made via the internet.
He has a recommendation for anyone wanting to work in the industry – be a pilot! He says it’s the best job by far and well worth the years of studying. Being an air stewardess isn’t as glamorous a job as it used to be he says – it’s straight there and back - no more overnight stops in exotic destinations.
John Patterson is a successful man who has led a full and interesting life. Has he got any advice for someone who is striving to begin a new project or to make a success of something at the moment? “Have a strategy, plan and pay attention to detail”. He says persistence and constant follow up are important and to “be myopic” - he says that it’s this attention to detail that has really helped him to reach where he is today. One of the aspects of his work that John enjoyed the most was when he was head of reservations for British Airways. And also one of the most satisfying – during his time there he noticed that there was a huge turnover of staff, around one third every year. So he applied his skills to reorganize a business situation which obviously wasn’t working. The reservations centre was, at that time, based in one huge office in London. So he decentralised the operation, opening several offices around the country and ensuring that staff worked in smaller, better organised offices. It did the trick, the staff were much happier and the staff turn over figures fell. He enjoys his job and, I think, brings a little special something to the company. Polite as ever John would like to say thank you to everybody who has flown with GB Airways and he hopes you’ll come back.
Interview by Xena Fox
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