There aren't many female executives; airline industry has even fewer

Global airline chiefs gathering in Sydney this week are mapping out the future of an industry that transports a big chunk of the world’s population. Good luck finding a woman among them.

It’s hard to describe the International Air Transport Association as anything other than a boys’ club, at least at the highest echelon. The board of governors of the aviation industry group, which represents 290 airlines and 82 per cent of global air traffic, yesterday posed for a photo on the eve of its meeting: There was one woman among 26 airline bosses — Christine Ourmières-Widener, CEO of Flybe Group,