AIRINSIGHT - Key Persons
Addison Schonland works in travel and aviation as a consultant, with a strong interest in emerging media. Addison was born in South Africa, and migrated to the United States in 1987.
He completed his initial college education at the University of Cape Town, where he graduated with degrees in Sociology, Economics and Management Finance. After college he spent time working at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and at Shell South Africa.
Once in the United States, he changed the course of his career by joining a market research firm, where he worked on the US Department of Commerce's Survey of International Air Travelers. This project exposed Addison to the airline and aviation world and he never looked back. This project required regular interaction with 75 international airlines, McDonnell Douglas, Boeing, and Airbus. It was, at that time, the world's largest airline survey.
Dr. Larsen is an expert in the optionally piloted, remotely piloted and autonomous aircraft industry, also known as Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS/drones) and Urban Air Mobility (UAM). She is a private pilot and licensed Part 107 Remote Pilot in Command.
Dr. Larsen is also an Adjunct Professor in the School of Business, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Worldwide Campus, serves on the Advisory Committee for the School of Aviation, Utah Valley University, and is a certified curriculum evaluator for the Distance Education Accreditation Commission.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Consultant
- President
Ernie Arvai is a consultant, entrepreneur, executive, and board director. His work over the last 44 years has focused on strategy, markets, competitive dynamics, and finance for aircraft and engine manufacturers, airlines. business aviation operators, industry suppliers, and financial institutions. He has frequently been called as an expert witness in commercial and business aviation-related litigation on economic and market issues.
He is currently President of AirInsight Group, which he co-founded in 2007. AirInsight has a media presence via a specialized aviation news site (airinsight.com) and a consulting division that focused on strategy and market analysis (airinsightresearch.com). His focus is on the consulting side of the business, working with a variety of clients across the industry.
He is also currently a Board Member at Nanotech Sciences, Inc., an innovative start-up with proprietary technology that enables cost-effective insertion of carbon nanotubes into polymers without clumping, creating a new class of composite materials.
Prior to co-founding AirInsight, he was President of The Arvai Group, Inc., a boutique consultancy he founded in 1991 focused on forensic analysis and litigation support. Previously, he was Vice President - Technology Management at Battelle Memorial Institute and a Director - North American Consulting and global head of the airline and aviation practice at Arthur D. Little, Inc.
Mr. Arvai holds a BSE degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Michigan and an MS in Industrial Administration from the Tepper School at Carnegie Mellon University. He also holds a CPA certificate, but is no longer in public practice. He is married, an instrument rated pilot, and enjoys golf and skiing..
Jim Speich is a 47 year veteran of the commercial aviation industry.
Former Director of Marketing for Pratt & Whitney Commercial Engines. In that role, he had marketing responsibility for all Pratt & Whitney Commercial Engines world-wide.
Speich joined Pratt & Whitney in 1973 and held numerous positions that included Advanced Programs, Propulsion Systems analysis, Boeing 767, 747 and MD-11 flight test performance engineer, Manager Product Marketing, Airbus Customer Engineering and airframer business contracts management.
He was the PW4000-100 Program Manager responsible for certification of the PW4170 Advantage70 TM engine on the Airbus A330 aircraft.
Speich holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Hartford and a Master's degree in Business Administration from Boston University. Completed PW/UTC Leadership training at Darden School of Business and Thayer Leader Development Group at West Point.
Richard Schuurman has been a news reporter since 1987 in The Netherlands, currently at regional news station Omroep Flevoland.
Having had a keen interest in aviation, he started freelance reporting on commercial aviation from July 2016. He is a regular contributor to Dutch monthly Piloot & Vliegtuig and Airliner World.
He joined the writer's team of Airinsight in December 2018, with the focus on airlines and OEM's.