Larry Coyne joins TIACA’s Hall of Fame

December 11, 2020: Larry Coyne, CEO of Coyne Airways has been selected by TIACA’s chairman’s Council as the association’s 2020 Hall of Fame Recipient. The annual TIACA Hall of Fame Award honours professionals with outstanding achievements in the development of the air cargo industry, exquisite leadership record and an innovative spirit. 

Coyne established Coyne Aviation in 1994, providing cargo charter flights to the fast-developing CIS countries, in particular to Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Coyne Aviation quickly became the number one cargo carrier to the whole of the CIS from Europe with a strong reputation for providing reliable and secure scheduled cargo services to some of the world’s hardest to reach destinations. 

Not one to sit on the sidelines, throughout his career Larry Coyne was a passionate advocate of security, liberalisation of cargo traffic rights and the removal of obstacles to the growth of the industry. Larry Coyne saw that TIACA could be useful in pushing this call for reform and joined TIACA’s Industry Affairs Committee in 1998. After serving on TIACA’s Industry Affairs Committee, Larry was then elected to serve as vice chairman and eventually chairman of the association where he championed security, liberalisation and the growth of air cargo industry.

“Larry always has been passionate about our industry and a true believer in the value of TIACA. He has contributed a lot to our organization and to our industry. I am thankful for the advice he has given me during my time as Chairman. It is an honor to see that Larry will now be part of the famous Hall of Fame,” stated Sebastiaan Scholte, chair of TIACA’s chairman’s council.

Coyne joins a star-studded group of 54 air cargo leaders who have received the prestigious Hall of Fame Award since its launch in 1997.

“I am very happy to receive this award and would like to thank TIACA's chairman's council for picking me as a member of such a distinguished group of individuals. I feel honoured to be in the same group as the 50 or so existing members of the Hall of Fame. They have all done exceptional things, perhaps somewhat against the odds which have impacted the way we go about our business today. I didn't think many people had taken note of a non-asset-based cargo airline that started from scratch 26 years ago with zero investment and no defined routes.

But thanks to a lot of hard work by its dedicated staff we managed to move around 250,000 tonnes of cargo generating $1 billion in sales while remaining profitable every year. This is something I am especially proud of, all achieved with no aircraft of our own, no debt and with a reputation of flying to far flung and unpronounceable places. 

Our industry needs to encourage more innovation and flexibility to produce structures better suited to the demands of tomorrow. I hope TIACA will build a strong industry consensus and lead the way, and I pledge to do my best to support it.” said Coyne.

Coyne was announced as the 2020 Hall of Fame Recipient at the closing session of TIACA’s Digital Air Cargo Forum (ACF) and will be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame at the next physical TIACA event to be determined in 2021. The event was supported by the STAT Media Group.