Head of the Centre for Air Transport Management School of Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing, Cranfield University
Anna was appointed as Professor and Head of the Centre for Air Transport Management at Cranfield University in October 2023 and has responsibility for developing Cranfield’s internationally renowned MSc programme in Air Transport Management and Airport Planning & Management, and associated research activities. She also holds a leadership role in developing industry-led research activities within DARTeC, the Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre, focusing on digital transformation for safe, seamless and sustainable air travel. She has over 20 years of aviation management experience across a number of operational, fleet, risk and safety and project management roles.
Prior to joining Cranfield, Anna was Director of Airline Operations for TUI Airline, the five airlines operated by TUI Group, the world’s leading tourism group. Leading a multi-national team of 200 colleagues, she was responsible for all aspects of 24-hour airline operations control including operational planning, flight dispatch, operations, customer care and crew control. As Director of Operations for the UK and Scandinavian airlines within the Group, Anna also held the Nominated Person regulatory responsibility for Ground Operations.
Anna has considerable experience in leadership and change management within the European airline context, as well as a risk, safety and crisis management background. During her career she has responded to several operational disruption events and industry crisis including 911, the volcanic ash airspace closure of 2010, the 2019 B737 MAX fleet worldwide grounding, as well as the impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Anna joined First Choice Airways in 2003 where she was involved with the development and delivery of airline safety risk management and emergency planning, having previously managed a series of airline and PLC change projects at Airtours International. She had a significant role in establishing the safety and risk management solution for Thomson Airways, formed through the merge of First Choice Airways with Thomsonfly in 2007. From 2008, as Head of Fleet Programme Management, Anna was responsible for delivering the 787 Dreamliner Entry-Into-Service (EIS) programme, being the first UK airline to operate the new technology aircraft. Subsequently she established pan-European leadership of fleet programmes including aircraft acquisition and EIS activity of all new Boeing 787 and 737MAX aircraft ordered by the TUI Group, as well as fleet and digital systems change programmes, as a senior leader in TUI Aviation Engineering and Maintenance.
In 2007 she was granted Membership status of the Institute of Risk Management (IRM), having gained the Institute’s Post-Graduate Diploma in Risk Management, she also has a BA Honours degree in English from Nottingham University, is a Prince 2 qualified project management practitioner and is trained in crisis and trauma response techniques. She previously served a two-year term as Secretary to the UK Airline Emergency Planning Group, a three-year term as a Public Member of Network Rail fulfilling non-executive governance responsibilities, was a TUI Group UK Pension Trust Company Nominated Trustee from 2018 to 2023, and undertook a one-year term during 2022~23 as an Independent Member of Council for Cranfield University.
Cranfield’s Centre for Air Transport Management is globally recognized as a leading research and teaching center. It focuses on commercial aspects of managing airlines and airports, integrating management with economics, finance, strategy, planning, design, operations, marketing, business development and technology.