We are delighted to invite alumni to join us in celebrating this year's Aviation Alumni Awards held in partnership with the Cranfield College of Aeronautics Alumni Association (CCAAA), the awards allow us to highlight and commemorate the excellent achievements, innovative thinking, and global impact of Cranfield alumni in the aviation sector. Two awards will be presented in this ceremony, the Excellence in Achievement Award and the Distinguished Alumnus award followed by a short lecture and Q & A session with the Distinguished award winner.
15.30 Welcome
15.35 Presentation of the Excellence in achievement award
15.40 Acceptance of the Excellence in achievement award
15.50 Presentation of the Distinguished alumnus award
15.55 Acceptance of the Distinguished alumnus award
16.05 Distinguished alumnus lecture
16.35 Q & A session
16.55 Close
Programme & speakers
Your 2022 Aviation alumni award winners:
Distinguished Aviation Alumni Award: Samer Majali (MSc Air Transport Management 1983) Vice Chairman and Board Designate CEO, Royal Jordanian
Samer Majali is the Vice Chairman and Board Designate CEO at Royal Jordanian, a leading global airline with a fleet of more than 20 modern aircraft, and a diverse network of more than 40 destinations spread across four continents. Samer completed his BS Aeronautical Engineering and Design Diploma in Industrial Studies in 1979 at Loughborough University, UK followed by an MSc in Air Transport Management degree in 1983 at Cranfield University. He is an influential leader in the aviation industry and is a member of multiple associations including, the Engineers Association of Jordan, the Board of Trustees at King Hussein Cancer Foundation, and a member of the Executive Committee for the Arab Air Carriers Organisation AACO.
Samer is also a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and is a Chartered Engineer, awarded by The Engineering Council UK. Samer started his career with Royal Jordanian in 2001, working with the Board of Directors to restructure the airline (post 9/11) to improve its competitiveness, and reliance on government support, and introduced a quality customer service focus. This returned the airline to profitability from 2004 onwards. Samer went on to achieve the status to be the first Arab and Middle Eastern Carrier to join the leading global alliance; OneWorld in March 2007, and led the IPO roadshow with CitiGroup, presenting to over fifty potential investors, resulting in the first true and successful IPO of a flag carrier in the Middle East in December 2007. Samer has held CEO positions in other airlines such as Gulf Air, Oman Air, and SaudiGulf Airlines. His impact in these positions involved, reconstructing Gulf Air and Oman Air by designing a new vision and strategy for the airlines to improve financial performance. At SaudiGulf he successfully headed the greenfield project of setting up a new airline in Saudi Arabia in 2013, until it commenced domestic operations in 2016 with four new A320 aircraft based in Dammam. As a result, Samer obtained IOSA certification and IATA membership in record time for a start-up.
Excellence in Achievement Award for Recent Aviation Graduates: Alice Ferrari (MSc Air Transport Management 2013) CEO and Co-Founder, Kyte
Alice Ferrari is the CEO and Co-founder of Kyte, a new API technology platform for airline retailing. Alice completed a degree in Maritime and Transport Economics at the Universita di Genova, Italy, followed by an MSc in Air Transport Management in 2013 at Cranfield University.
She is very passionate about bringing solutions to the industry that can help airlines develop the way they present the flight booking experience and better engage with customers. Alice has spent her entire professional life working in the airline industry, starting her career at easyJet in 2013 in the Crew Planning team, Alice worked on developing the company’s Regulatory Flight Time Limitations strategy in operations to improve crew efficiency. This involved performing risk assessments, identifying root causes of crew fatigue, and applying appropriate corrective actions. In 2014, Alice moved on to an Operations Executive role within easyJet to improve operational performance, enhance the customer experience, and drive collaboration between operations and other key areas of the business.
Alice became an Aviation Consultant in 2017 working alongside Nyras partners and Senior Associates on projects for airlines, airports, and aviation service providers worldwide, before developing travel technology start-ups for Founders Factory, easyJet's partner venture studio.
Professor Graham Braithwaite FRAeS, Director of Transport Systems, said: “Congratulations to our 2022 Aviation alumni winners on your well-deserved achievement. Your desire and ambition for success and change within the industry have been driving forces in your careers and I am delighted you have been rewarded for your hard work. You're an inspiration to many of our global alumni community, students, and prospective students and I look forward to seeing your continued success.” We look forward to celebrating and congratulating all winners in person at a special awards dinner in October 2022.