How high-flyer's career started on the low road

Had Chris Holliday's first thoughts on a career path been realised, he would now be flying pop stars, footballers and business executives around Europe. But less-than-perfect eyesight forced him to choose a different route into an industry that had caught his imagination. Now chief operating officer for Humberside Airport-based Eastern Airways, he is fulfilling that early ambition - albeit from an office rather than a cockpit. David Laister reports.With an Austrian mother, they were a necessity to see a large part of his extended family, and he loved the whole experience.

"I have been flying around on aeroplanes for as long as I can remember," he said. "As a teenager I undertook a flying scholarship - I could fly a plane before I could drive a car."

Brought up in West Yorkshire, he would cycle to Leeds Bradford Airport for lessons and the fascination with these mechanical wonders led him towards an aeronautical engineering degree as he eyed up being an RAF top gun.

But then his vision deteriorated and an early desire was lost.

"I went from having really good eyesight to needing glasses in a short space of time," recalled Mr Holliday.

And while his passion to join the RAF was quelled, his focus on aeroplanes remained strong.

After graduating, he joined British Aerospace in technical sales at Woodford, Manchester.

Selling turbo-prop planes, he moved around BAE's various locations, travelling the globe to market them.

On one occasion he found himself involved in a demonstration flight in Minneapolis, and a quirk of fate now sees that particular Jetstream 41 as part of Eastern Airways' fleet.

But while posted in France, he and his wife - whom he married a year after leaving university - decided they wanted to return to the UK, and Mr Holliday took a role with the European Regions Airline Association.

"This gave me a great insight into the major regional airlines," he said of his stint with the body that gives an industry perspective when governments consider legislation.

Expecting a child, the couple then decided to move back north, with Mr Holliday taking a role with Slingsby Aviation, near York, selling training planes and parts.

"I then discovered a business called Eastern Airways, which was really starting to show signs of growth," he said.

Now a decade on since that career move in 1999, it has been quite a journey.

Mr Holliday said: "The company has experienced significant growth, when you consider it started 11 years ago with one route from Humberside to Aberdeen and one aircraft flying it.

"We now have 30 aircraft flying on a domestic and international scheduled network serving key business centres from 16 airports, as well as substantial charter activity."

Built up primarily by serving businesses including the North Sea oil and gas industry, the network has developed across the country by using smaller regional aircraft on routes other airlines with larger capacity fleets shied away from.

"I came in as commercial director and we were at a size when that role covered all sorts of things.

"I was bringing aircraft into the company, selecting and implementing software and overseeing maintenance aspects. Now we have 150 flights a day, Monday to Friday, and on that measure it makes us a very large airline."

But, as was proved very recently, it is still at a size where it can react quickly when it matters most.

In November, the airline was awarded a contract by the Integrated Aviation Consortium (IAC) and Bristow Helicopters to fly oil workers between Aberdeen and Scatsta in the Shetland Isles.

The contract was due to start this year, but a call came in on a December morning when the IAC were left grounded by another airline.

Mr Holliday said: "We got a call at 6.30am and we were providing a service by 11am.

"It is testament to the capabilities of the team that we achieved that, and it is certainly in the interests of the company to respond at speed to the customer requirement."

That contract alone has already seen more than 1,400 flights made since December. It is a perfect example of the company's positioning in the aviation industry.

"We have always tried to be very responsive and we focused on our priorities of supporting business," Mr Holliday said.

"We are not trying to be a low-cost airline that crams people in. We are very focused on a high standard of service, day return frequencies, and we want to make our flights as enjoyable as possible.

"That is the underlying philosophy.

"A lot of people who fly with us fly every week or every other week. It is part of their lives and if we don't get it right it would have serious consequences for them. This is why we have such a focus on being on time."

Gongs have flowed for consistently being rated one of the UK's most punctual airlines, as well as the quality of service.

This is something that as an accountable post holder with the Civil Aviation Authority, he takes great pride in.

But with a remit for the whole of the operational side of the business, he knows the opinions that matter most.

"We have received awards that have recognised what we have achieved, but what counts is what our customers think - the people who pay the air fares and ultimately our wages.

"It is great having a pat on the back, but we need to keep delivering high levels of service, day in, day out."

So what are the secrets to doing that so well, as to attract the title of European regional airline of the year 2006/2007.

"At Humberside we employ 200 people, and a lot of the jobs are highly skilled.

"We have engineers, avionics technicians, pilots, operations staff, our own call centre, a finance team and headquarters functions.

"We don't sub-contract and tend to do it all in-house. That keeps people aware of what is important, and it gives us the ability to focus on something if it needs support or adjustment, and an ability to respond like we did for the oil consortium.

"It is a team sport, running an airline. Individuals can make a significant difference to what happens, but you need everyone from the stores person who takes a new part off the courier to the person taking the seat reservations.

"Everything has to add up and line up to achieve that goal of being an outstanding experience."

There is pride in the maintenance activity which is centralised at Humberside, and the investment in a training simulator for the Jetstream 41 aircraft, which has seen pilots pitching up in northern Lincolnshire from South Africa, Dubai, Hong Kong and Nepal, adding to the local economy.

Mr Holliday said: "What we have done with Humberside is give ourselves the capability to grow and support ourselves.

"We have the simulator here and substantial maintenance activity, and this is building expertise locally.

"Humberside is not naturally a place where you think you would find an airline base, but we have been able to build a good business in this area without any support or European or local funding."

Away from work Mr Holliday likes to emerge himself into family life, tinkering with bikes as his son has a "habit of going through back tyres".

And personally, how does he reflect on what has been achieved?

"I am enormously privileged to be part of a team that has grown something from scratch to where we are now. It has been a really fascinating experience."

Reflecting on his re-routing into the industry, he added: "Life dealt me different cards and I had to play them a different way.

"Like the whole team I enjoy what I do, it is challenging, but overall I know I look at it like everyone else and know what good fun it is."