Season 11 Episode 2

Former Comair CEO Glenn Orsmond reveals the real reasons the company failed

18 July 2024 · 29:57 min

In this Business Talk with Michael Avery interview, former Comair CEO Glenn Orsmond discusses his book “Crash and Burn – a CEO’s crazy adventures in the airline industry”. Orsmond is one of the most prominent aviation executives in South Africa, having served as CEO of Comair on two occasions.… Orsmond was also the founder and CEO of 1time, and prior to this worked at Sun Air. In the interview, Orsmond discusses several key topics from his book. He begins by talking about the major issues he encountered at Comair during his multiple stints in leadership positions. This includes the regular butting of heads between management and the pilots – who had become powerful decision-makers. When he arrived for his second stint at Comair, for example, the pilots were flying about 60 hours a month compared to the Safair pilots’ 85 hours a month – yet the Comair pilots were earning 30-40% more money. Furthermore, Orsmond says the pilot body was a driving force behind Comair’s decision to buy new Boeing aircraft—despite “not even generating sufficient profits to pay the interest on the deal.” Show more