Jan Melgaard

Background

About Jan Melgaard

Air travel has transformed the world. It is a catalyst for our global economy, it enhances our quality of life by way of allowing us individually to explore the world and the mere fact that we meet other cultures contributes to a more peaceful world. In short, air travel is here to stay! As an industry we have an overarching challenge in the form of our CO2 footprint. We need to address this challenge head-on – and now! Addressing the challenge takes constructive action from both industry players and governments alike. Despite our current CO2 footprint and our continued growth, we as an industry can achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The solution lies primarily in alternative fuels, that is biofuel and e-fuel. Biofuel has its limitations, but it is commercially available to airlines today in 7 airports around the world. E-fuel has reached proof of concept and has been certified to meet the standard of jet fuel. The commercialization of e-fuel is ahead of us, but important first steps to that end have been taken already. As an industry insider who have lived the benefits of our industry, I am excited to be part of the journey of air travel to sustainability. My background is one centered on the financial dimension of aircraft. Having worked in Luxembourg, US, UK, Sweden, Denmark and now Ireland I have literally ‘been around’. My professional background covers all the financial dimensions of our industry from aircraft lending to asset management to aircraft investing/leasing. I have been CEO of two leasing companies, partner in asset management companies and head of the New York office of a significant aviation lender. It has taken us a lot of years discussing why our environment is suffering the way it is. Let us not spend as many years discussing the solutions – several solutions are in front of us. In an urgent situation like the one we have action speaks louder than words – that goes for industry players and governments alike!