On October 1, 2014, successful aviation business leader David Pflieger was hired by Mr. Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle, as a direct report to assume the roles of President and Chief Executive Officer at Island Air, an inter-island airline wholly owned by Ellison that operated throughout Hawaii. In addition to these positions, Mr. Pflieger accepted a seat on the company’s board of directors. Prior to joining Island Air, David Pflieger demonstrated his business acumen with multiple successful airline turnarounds. He served as the President and CEO of Silver Airways in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after spending three years as the Managing Director and CEO of Fiji Airways, where he led an extensive turnaround and rebranding effort that transformed the company from a financially struggling airline to a prosperous international carrier honored multiple times by Condé Nast Traveler. Prior to his work in Fiji, Mr. Pflieger was a founding officer at Virgin America in San Francisco. At Island Air, Dave Pflieger joined a company with a long history of service to Hawaiian communities. The firm began as a two-plane service under the name Princeville Airways in 1980, providing flights between Honolulu and Kauai. By 1987, the company had expanded its fleet to eight aircraft and assumed the name Aloha Island Air after its acquisition by Aloha Air Group. The airline received its FAA certification to operate large aircraft in 1995 and became an independent carrier soon after, passing into the ownership of Gavarnie Holding, LLC. Following its successful turnaround in just 14 months by Mr. Pflieger, Island Air was sold to PacifiCap, LLC, the largest venture capital firm in Hawaii, and it continues to operate daily flights between Lihue, Kahului, Kona, and Honolulu. The airline also continues to support the broader Hawaiian community through a robust corporate responsibility program benefiting organizations such as the University of Hawaii and Best Buddies Hawaii, as well as the Explorers Program, a hands-on educational experience for young, aspiring aviation professionals.
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In May 2013, the team at Air Pacific, now Fiji Airways, bid a fond farewell to the man who led them through a period of significant and positive transformation. Accomplished aviation business leader David Pflieger joined the company in 2010 as Managing Director and CEO, taking on the lofty task of rebranding and rejuvenating the struggling national airline. At the time of his appointment, Fiji Airways had been operating at a severe financial deficit for two years. Mr. Pflieger succeeded in restoring the airline to its former prosperity, accomplishing a financial turnaround from $91.8 million in losses to profits of $16.5 million in just two years. In order to achieve this reversal, Mr. Pflieger introduced dramatic improvements to several of Fiji Airways’ operational areas, including customer service and on-time performance. He implemented a Key Performance Indicator program to encourage and promote excellence among front-line employees, offering up to $1,200 in annual bonuses per employee, in addition to establishing Fiji's first-ever profit-sharing plan for those outside of management positions. The turnaround effort also featured a number of investments in the airline’s fleet, including the first-ever purchase of wide-body aircraft, the creation of a new corporate social responsibility program which served Fijian communities in a variety of ways, partnering with organizations such as the Foundation for Rural Integrated Enterprises and Development (FRIEND) and the Mamanuca Environmental Society, as well as establishing Fiji's first-ever Wellness Clinic to promote health among employees and Fiji residents. David Pflieger’s many accomplishments helped to elevate the reputation of Fiji Airways worldwide, attracting attention from international banks and multiple other partners. The carrier also earned a Condé Nast Traveler’s ranking as one of the top 10 small airlines in the world. As Mr. Pflieger departed Nadi, Fiji, for his new position in Miami, Florida, he drew praise from the airline's unions and the Fiji Airways board for his employee-focused turnaround strategy and dedicated leadership. As stated by Air Pacific chairman Nalin Patel, “Having successfully restored the airline to profitability in just two years, and revitalized and re-branded the airline in just three, Dave has earned the respect of all of his employees and Fijians everywhere.” Virgin America publicly reports verified greenhouse gas emissions and data on fuel consumption for all of its domestic flights, with the aim of staying on track to reduce emissions and keeping operations as green as possible. All emissions are independently verified by a third party using the standards set by the Climate Registry, and the numbers include flights, corporate operations, and ground services. By keeping track of this data, the airline monitors its own progress toward key sustainability goals. Virgin established its baseline carbon footprint in 2008, the first year that it achieved full operations. Since then, it has publicly reported its fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. As it continues to grow in both fleet size and passenger traffic, the airline continually seeks out new opportunities for reducing its carbon footprint, such as the carbon offset program offered in collaboration with Carbonfund.org. Using the in-flight entertainment system to purchase carbon offsets, Virgin customers have collectively mitigated more than 7 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. In 2008, David Pflieger led Virgin America to become the first US airline to register its greenhouse emissions. With assistance from the Environmental Protection Agency, Virgin America reported its emissions on the Climate Registry. In addition, Pflieger facilitated a partnership with the Carbon Fund to enable passengers to buy carbon offsets. In August 2016, Virgin America celebrated nine years of service to passengers throughout the United States and Mexico. Looking back over nearly a decade of operations, the California-based airline released the 2016 Sustainability Report, detailing its numerous environmental initiatives and the significant measurable impact they have had on the carrier’s overall sustainability, as well as the sustainable goals it plans to pursue moving forward. Since its first flight in 2008, Virgin America has successfully implemented 25 fuel-efficiency initiatives that have yielded fuel savings of more than 12 million gallons, allowing the airline to exceed the industry average for fuel efficiency. The carrier has also worked to reduce waste generated by its own operations and those of its partners, emphasized recycling, and leveraged new technologies to limit noise pollution. Virgin America’s fleet of Airbus A320 family aircraft outshines comparable US fleets in terms of age and fuel efficiency, and additional innovations ranging from sustainable engines to advanced navigational systems have allowed the airline to further improve its environmental sustainability. In 2008, Virgin America invited passengers to help offset their personal carbon emissions via a unique interface included in its seatback entertainment system, and since then, the airline has taken measures to counter more than 15 million pounds of C02 emissions. In acknowledging nine years of environmentally conscious operations, Virgin America also took the opportunity to highlight new sustainable goals for the future. Seeking to maintain its role as an industry leader in sustainability, Virgin seeks to achieve year-on-year fuel efficiency increases of at least 1.5 percent until 2020, at which point it plans to achieve a net carbon emissions cap. Following this, the airline plans to operate on a carbon neutral basis, and by 2050, Virgin America hopes to have cut carbon emissions by 50 percent compared to levels recorded in 2005. |
About David Pflieger
David Pflieger - Senior Airline Executive
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