Icelandair Appoints New Managing Director of Cargo

Icelandair has appointed Einar Már Guðmundsson as the Managing Director of Icelandair Cargo.

Einar Már Guðmundsson stepped into the role as Interim Managing Director when Gunnar Már Sigurfinnsson announced his resignation in September.

Guðmundsson has been with Icelandair since 2014 as a Director of the Company’s Technical Operations. Previously, Einar Már was the Leader of Procurement at Rio Tinto Alcan (ISAL) for three years; before that, he was the Operations Manager of Skeljungur.

He has an MBA from Copenhagen Business School and a BS degree in Science of Fisheries from the University of Akureyri. Bogi Nils Bogason, President and CEO of Icelandair:

“We are very happy to announce that we have permanently hired Einar Már Guðmundsson as the Managing Director of Icelandair Cargo. Now, our key objective is to bring our cargo business back to profit and build even stronger relationships with our customers. Einar Már has extensive experience in the airline industry and a great track record within Icelandair that he will bring to this role.”

Challenges in Cargo Operations

Icelandair’s cargo division has faced challenges, failing to meet the projected profit improvement during the Q2 financial results. The airline’s Q3 results also showed the airline’s cargo operation reduced the airline’s EBIT by USD 6.7 million. Weakness in the global cargo market affected the airline’s results.

“Our cargo business continued to be challenging and negatively impacted our financial performance. We are taking actions to improve the operation, including adjusting capacity to demand,” Boganson said.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data showing a steady recovery in global air cargo markets. The airline association recently reported global Air Cargo Demand up by 1.9% in September. However, there is an uneven distribution of the gains. European cargo traffic is still at a deficit.