AlixPartners director Marc-Philippe Lumpé to lead Air Transat
Transat, a Montreal-headquartered international tour operator, has hired Marc-Philippe Lumpé, a London-based director at consulting firm AlixPartners, as chief airline operations officer.
In the role, Lumpé will oversee the company’s air transportation segment – Air Transat. He will step into the role on June 1, succeeding Jean-Francois Lemay, who has led Air Transat since 2013.
Lumpé brings more than 20 years of experience in the aviation industry, with expertise in leading and transforming airline operations; aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO); IT; and commercial.
Lumpé has been at AlixPartners for the past year, where he focuses on turnaround and restructuring engagements in the aerospace and defense sector. He previously served as SVP of airline operations at Virgin Atlantic, VP of the integrated operations center at Qatar Airways, and senior program manager of Thomas Cook Airlines’ group maintenance organization.
He also previously spent three years as a consultant in the Berlin office of management consulting firm Kearney.
Earlier in his career, Lumpé was a pilot in the German military, where he is currently a lieutenant colonel in the German Air Force Reserve. He also spent six years as a commercial pilot at Lufthansa.
"We are delighted to welcome Marc-Philippe to the Transat team," said Transat president and CEO Annick Guérard, who succeeded co-founder Jean-Marc Eustache in May 2021. "His extensive experience in aviation, particularly in the areas of operations, quality, maintenance, procurement, and IT, as well as his managerial skills, both strategic and operational, are undeniable assets for the long-term recovery and development of our aviation activities."
Air Transat is Canada’s third-largest airline. It specializes in charter flights from Canadian cities to vacation destinations in the US, Caribbean, and Central America in the winter and European destinations in the summer. Like other international leisure carriers, Air Transat’s profits have been sewered by the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic. The firm’s Q4 2020 revenues were $28.4 million, a 95.9% decline ($664.8 million) from Q4 2019.
The airline saw a proposed merger with Air Canada blocked by the European Commission in 2021, with the regulatory body citing competition concerns on transatlantic routes.
“As part of Transat's senior management team, I will put my energy and skills to work on an ambitious strategic plan to further develop everything that makes Air Transat the world's best leisure airline and to ensure its long-term success," Lumpé said.
