Shattock leaves Babcock, joins bmi airways

Tim Shattock is putting the world of rotary aviation behind him, leaving global helicopter operator Babcock to assume the role of managing director at the Heathrow-based airline bmi.

Mr Shattock left the Cheltenham helicopter company after serving as managing director for four years – to take up the same role at bmi on 16 May. Babcock has yet to announce Mr Shattock’s replacement.

As managing director, Shattock will report directly to the CEO of bmi’s parent company Airline Investments Limited Peter Simpson. bmi is a relatively new airline, established in 2015 by Airline Investments alongside its sister Loganair.

Commenting on the appointment Mr Simpson said: “We’re delighted to welcome Tim to the team as we restructure the bmi Exec team to replicate the structure we have in place with our sister airline, Loganair.

“We are continuing to drive bmi forward, engage with new markets and transition through Brexit.  The creation of this role gives us greater bandwidth to focus on the immediate challenges ahead while working with the bmi team, to develop the business further unlocking the many opportunities presenting themselves on the back of solid foundation that has been created over the last couple of years.

Having weathered the oil and gas downturn at Babcock, one of the world’s largest helicopter operators with a substantial investment in the oil and gas market, Mr Shattock will be heading up the UK airline in the wake of the Brexit vote.

Since the Brexit result, UK airlines have been contending with the uncertainty of how many EU airspace rights the UK will maintain after leaving the union. Some of the UK’s biggest airlines such as RyanAir and EasyJet have been campaigning to protect these flying rights.

Mr Shattock said: “bmi has a fantastic reputation as an airline that delivers a quality product.  It has maintained high standards of professionalism and service across all routes, and I look forward to continuing this and also developing the airline into one which can effortlessly move forward as the UK transitions through Brexit and beyond.”