Avolon chief executive Dómhnal Slattery has been chosen as The Irish Times Business Person of the Month for January, an award run in association with Bank of Ireland.
During the month, the aviation leasing group he founded announced that rising demand for air travel had sparked Avolon’s busiest three months in its history at the end of 2021.
Dublin-headquartered Avolon completed 95 deals in the final three months of last year, including leasing new aircraft, follow-on leases and extensions.
Mr Slattery said vaccines and an easing of Covid-19 curbs globally had driven a rebound in flying last year following a difficult period for the company and the industry in the wake of pandemic lockdown restrictions being introduced in the first quarter of 2020.
“The scale of pent-up demand for travel, and airlines moving to meet that demand, resulted in our fourth quarter being the most active period for leasing activity in our history,” Mr Slattery said.
In January, Mr Slattery was also appointed as chairman of New York-listed Vertical Aerospace, in which Avolon is an investor. Based in Bristol, Vertical designs and builds zero carbon, electrically-powered aircraft that takes off and lands vertically.
It hopes its electric VX4 aircraft will be licensed and flying commercially by the middle of the decade and is seeking certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Authority for its aircraft.