Two Latin leaders lost
Latin American aviation lost two of its most respected leaders in April with the deaths of Ernesto Vasquez Rocha and Federico Bloch.
Dr Vasquez was a Colombian lawyer, diplomat, and ICAO representative. He is best remembered for helping to form the International Association of Latin American Air Transport (AITAL) in 1980, and in guiding that organisation toward maturity. Always the courteous gentleman, he worked hard to move Latin aviation from its fragmented beginnings toward an integrated regional outlook. He served as AITAL's executive director for 23 years, only resigning last November due to poor health. His successor is Alex de Gunten.
The death of Federico Bloch, age 50, came as more of a shock. Bloch was shot and killed in San Salvador's outskirts in an incident that is under investigation as a murder. Only two weeks earlier he had resigned as chief executive and a director of Grupo Taca to spend more time with his family. One of his sons has cancer.
Bloch, regarded as one of the new breed of Latin aviation executives, pioneered the use of cross-border alliances that have become the preferred model among Latin American airlines. He started in 1979 by helping to acquire El Salvador's Taca International Airlines, and then convinced five other Central American carriers to join it in Grupo Taca. Since then, the group has grown into South America.
Bloch was instrumental in other initiatives, ranging from open skies bilaterals to a regional clearing house for civil aviation authorities throughout Central America. He was a past president and member of the executive committee of AITAL and sat on IATA's board of governors.
Bloch is succeeded by Grupo Taca's chairman, Roberto Kriete.
DAVID KNIBB SEATTLE
Source: Airline Business
