ISTAT Jetrader - Spring 2023 - 12

PERSPECTIVES
Dómhnal Slattery
Chairman, Vertical Aerospace Ltd.
ISTAT has selected Dómhnal Slattery as the
recipient of the 2023 ISTAT Award. The ISTAT
Award was created in 2001 to honor individuals
who have made lasting contributions to the
aviation industry and is bestowed annually at the
ISTAT Americas President's Gala Dinner. Jetrader
recently spoke to Slattery about his early days at
Guinness Peat Aviation, launching Avolon, and his
new ventures with a rising eVTOL business and
the Innovate for Ireland program.
Jetrader: Please share a little
about your early days in the
aircraft leasing industry. What did
you do at Guinness Peat Aviation
(GPA), and what is your greatest
lesson from your experience
working there?
Dómhnal Slattery (DS): I joined
Guinness Peat Aviation in 1989 when
I was just 22 years of age. GPA was
founded by Tony Ryan in 1975 and
based in Shannon, Ireland, just 15
miles from where I was born and
raised in Ennis, County Clare. At that
time, Shannon Airport was the most
magical place in the world for me.
Growing up, it was where my father
delivered fresh vegetables to the flight
kitchen at the thriving international
airport. That meant every Saturday
morning, as a treat, he took me with
him and, later, my brother John, on
his airport deliveries.
12 * THE OF F I C I AL PUBL I CAT I ON OF ISTAT
In those days, the flight kitchen
was a huge operation, serving
multiple airlines as they passed
through Shannon on their way across
the Atlantic. These were the days of
relatively light security; Dad's van
could drive right up to the door of
the flight kitchen, airside and within
touching distance of these giant jumbo
jets. I would help unload the fruit and
vegetables bound for Pan-Am or Aer
Lingus 747s, and from there I was
hooked. The smell of kerosene was
intoxicating. Having lost my father to
cancer when I was just 11 years old
and John just 9, those are cherished
memories for me. That is where my
fascination of all things aviation began.
Fast-forward to 1989, I had finished
college and was looking for a job.
Ireland at that time was a dark and
gloomy place for graduates. In my last
year of college, 95% of my class would
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