Flight_International 28Jan2020

WORKING WEEK

flightglobal.com 28 January-3 February 2020 | Flight International | 47

Emissions reduction is airline’s ‘number one environmental priority’

Doctor who aims to cut the carbon

As vice-president corporate development for Virgin Atlantic, Amy Ruddock is responsible for driving

the carrier’s sustainability agenda via strategy, London Heathrow airport expansion and public affairs

WORK EXPERIENCE AMY RUDDOCK

You are also leading Virgin’s

expansion at Heathrow airport.

What does that involve?

Our ambition is to become the

UK’s second flag carrier; that is

a network carrier that connects

passengers between domestic,

short- and long-haul services. We

need two flag carriers to ensure

an expanded Heathrow delivers

choice and competitive fares

for passengers – currently one

in four passengers at Heathrow

has no choice over with whom

they fly. Practically, that means

my team is lobbying to amend

the slot allocation mechanism.

This was not designed for huge

increases in capacity such as the

third runway and will prevent

effective competition. Another

part of my team is working

alongside Heathrow Airport Ltd

to ensure that Virgin Atlantic

and our partners have the right

terminal infrastructure to grow

and that our growth helps to

achieve our net zero goals.

Where do you see yourself

five years from now?

I have never been happier than

since my move to Virgin Atlantic

from consulting and I want to

continue shaping the industry at

the executive level. ■

Why did you choose to work
in aviation?
I am a plane geek. I grew up
living around the world and
became a young appreciator of
a differentiated cabin. I’m also a
PhD physicist who appreciates
the complexity of propelling 400t
into the air. I married a business
jet pilot, which sealed my fate

• our weekends with our young
  girls often involve plane-spotting
  picnics. Our house is adorned
  with vintage airline posters and
  aircraft models.
  How has your career
  progressed?
  After my PhD, I worked for
  the Boston Consulting Group
  (BCG) for nine years, between
  our London and Atlanta
  offices. My third project was a
  transformation programme with
  a low-cost carrier and I haven’t
  looked back. In nine years at
  BCG I worked with five airlines
  (in Europe, the Middle East and
  the USA) on topics as diverse as
  strategy, operational efficiency
  and commercial growth. I moved
  to Virgin Atlantic, a former
  client, following my second
  maternity leave and have been
  there about two months.
  What does your current role
  involve?
  As vice-president corporate
  development, I am responsible
  for sustainability, corporate
  strategy, expansion at London
  Heathrow (with the third
  runway) and government affairs.
  It’s a broad, high-impact role
  that keeps me on my toes but I
  wouldn’t have it any other way.

A large part of your role is

sustainability. What is Virgin

Atlantic doing about carbon

emissions?

Virgin Atlantic has long been a

leader in sustainable aviation

and carbon reductions have been

our number one environmental

priority from the start. In 2007,

we established our “Change

is in the Air” programme

and in 2012 announced our

pioneering partnership on

sustainable aviation fuels with

clean technology company

LanzaTech. The next phase

is the carbon offsetting

and reduction scheme for

international aviation (CORSIA).

This is an internationally

agreed programme designed to

address carbon-neutral growth

within civil aviation from 2020

onwards. Virgin was one of the

first airlines to call for a global

carbon pricing mechanism for

aviation and was delighted

when CORSIA was ratified by

ICAO in 2018. These market-

based measures are much more

environmentally effective than

taxes because they give value to

carbon savings and money goes

directly to carbon reduction

projects. Then, as current aircraft

technologies reach their limits,

the next big breakthrough

is set to come in the form of

advanced, affordable, waste-

based sustainable aviation fuel

technologies. We are calling on

government and potential fuel

suppliers to help us achieve an

ambitious target of at least 20%

of sustainable fuel across our

operation by 2035.

Virgin Atlantic

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