Mike Kavanagh is a 39-year veteran of the airline industry in New Zealand and Australia. He was employed by Singapore Airlines from 1976 until his department was outsourced in 2007. A passenger transport enthusiast, he actively participated in the company’s growth into one of the industry’s most admired carriers.
Following the in-flight destruction of a Boeing 737 of subsidiary airline SilkAir in 1997, and the crash of a Singapore Airlines Boeing 747 in 2000, Mike undertook training in the airline’s family assistance program. He had previously lost colleagues in the crash of Pan Am flight 816 in Tahiti and the Air New Zealand DC10 disaster in the Antarctic. After leaving Singapore Airlines, Mike undertook further family assistance training at the NTSB Training Center in Ashburn, Virginia.
The motorcoach industry has been Mike’s avocation since childhood, and his research indicated that little had been done to prepare operators for the responsibilities of a major incident. Mike has published a guide to assist Australian motorcoach operators in the preparation or update of their crisis management plan. Mike is also working to raise awareness of family assistance in Australia and New Zealand.