Conor McCarthy, founder and executive chairman of Emerald Airlines, is a Trinity engineering graduate. Earlier this year, McCarthy returned to give a lecture to current engineering students drawing from his own remarkable journey in the aviation industry.
McCarthy began an aircraft apprenticeship at age 16 while attending night classes as an engineering technician and later received a scholarship from Aer Lingus.
“Get your head down, focus on the job in hand, work well within and leading teams and support each other. Be seen to be a team player and someone who is smart”
While in college, McCarthy was, like many students, unsure of the career direction he wanted to pursue. He was, however, focused on the next critical stage in the path and approached every opportunity with unwavering drive, allowing himself to explore his passions and eventually catch the “aviation bug”. As he puts it; “Get your head down, focus on the job in hand, work well within and leading teams and support each other. Be seen to be a team player and someone who is smart.”
When he moved into the commercial department at Aer Lingus, he became intrigued by the business and planning aspects of the airline. Discovering that his engineering skills and numerical abilities were very helpful in modelling the performance and profitability of routes and aircrafts, he worked to acquire marketing and strategic planning experience. Making the occasional mistake along the way, he believes that the fastest way to learn is to fail fast.
While many students may view a business degree as the key to entrepreneurship, McCarthy believes starting with an engineering qualification led to “a completely different outcome”. In studying engineering and aeronautics, he developed a particular skill set which was valuable in itself. He leveraged that skill set to transition into other departments, enhancing it through complementary experience. Applying this skill set to the management and assessment of risk was when his business acumen truly came into play. “Business studies of themselves are slightly hollow whereas you pick up a lot of these skill sets as you navigate through your career and in your dealings with other people”.
Rising through the ranks, McCarthy was appointed CEO of Aer Lingus Commuter at age 28. At this time, he also ran the Transatlantic Project resulting in the successful introduction of the Airbus A330. In 1996, McCarthy joined Ryanair as Director of Group Operations. At that time the airline had a fleet of ten 737 aircrafts. By the time he departed in 2000 it had grown to 36 Boeing 737-800s.
Thus as he took his first step onto the entrepreneurial ladder, he had gained something in the form of knowledge, skills and experience. After Ryanair Conor found that the next step forward was to start his aviation consultancy PlaneConsult. This venture opened the door to further opportunities including Exeter Aerospace. Dublin Aerospace was also launched in the aftermath of SR Technics’ closure and the 2009 Irish economic collapse. More recently, he founded Emerald Airlines which took over the Aer Lingus Regional franchise following Stobart Air’s cessation of operations in May 2021.
“If you cannot identify your customer then you don’t have a valid job”
He considers his proudest achievement to be the employment of over 1,200 people across Dublin Aerospace, Exeter Aerospace, and Emerald Airlines—something he considers “a true privilege” which he does “not wear lightly.” More than anything, he values the opportunity to train countless young individuals for lifelong careers in aviation. He stressed the importance of looking after your people: “Task them, direct them, motivate them, measure them and reward them”. In his view, the best business ideas are usually simple and well-executed by a great team with the customer at the centre. “If you cannot identify your customer then you don’t have a valid job.”
Would he choose the same path if he could do it all again? “Yes. I love aviation and enjoy working with the people who share my passion for this never changing industry—airlines, aerospace, maintenance, and leasing included”.
However, there were obstacles to be overcome. I asked whether there were any moments of failure that defined his journey: “I’m not sure if there were any particular defining moments of failure or risk,” McCarthy replied. “But the lessons learned through failure are lessons that are rarely forgotten, whereas lessons from success can often be attributed to good timing and fortune and can be easily forgotten. If I was to feel there was an area where I could have done better in certain circumstances I think it may have been in the area of ‘managing upwards’ – in other words, liaising and communicating and convincing my superiors of a particular plan of action whereas I tended to be pretty strong-willed and once I got my team on board drove on for the results I knew would be self-evident, rather than recruiting the support of my senior manager and taking the time to keep them onboard. Luckily, I got through but if I had a project failure, I might have had a different journey.”
“We could save 10% of European aviation greenhouse gases tomorrow if we re-drew the air nav[igation] routes under the Single Sky programme but governments are very insular when it comes to their own space”
McCarthy offered insight into the aviation industry today. He anticipates continued growth in the sector with travel likely to become relatively more expensive. He referred to sustainability in the aviation industry as “a glaring gap” and believes Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is expected to play a critical role in meeting environmental targets. But despite percentage mandates increasing out to 2050, the governments mandating these lofty targets are not investing in production. “We could save 10% of European aviation greenhouse gases tomorrow if we re-drew the air nav[igation] routes under the Single Sky programme but governments are very insular when it comes to their own space”. He also foresees the rise of “long, thin” routes—enabled by aircraft like the A321XLR and potentially a new Boeing narrowbody. There is currently a pressing shortage of engineers and technicians, with current training pipelines unable to meet the growth envisaged.
Reflecting on what it takes to lead in such a dynamic industry, Conor said: “A good plan based on simple, irrefutable basics, adequate capital, conservative timelines and revenue assumptions [along with] a dogged determination to make it work despite being blown off course consistently and a great team of hard working professionals supporting”.
“Terrible” is how Conor describes the gender imbalance in aviation. For Technical and Flying roles it is circa 5-15% which tends to feed leadership demographics. While women are reasonably well represented in areas such as Finance, HR, and commercial roles, their presence in technical positions are “woeful”. He apportions blame to a segregated school system, poor career guidance and a lack of promotion of technical apprenticeships to women. He acknowledged that the industry’s image can be off-putting, despite these roles being well-paid and highly skilled.
The most exciting opportunities for engineering graduates today are “mostly non-engineering roles for people with great engineering/STEM skills. Airlines, Leasing Companies and MROs (Maintenance Repair & Overhaul companies)”. When hiring, the qualities Conor would seek in graduates include “Attitude, disciplined/hard work, integrity, quick learner, team player, investing in their CV rather than their pay grade.”
If he were to offer one piece of advice to his younger self, it would be: “Pursue a career in finance— where the money is good and a much lower risk of failure!”
“There are no shortcuts”
And to current students who are interested in starting their own company someday? “Work hard, play hard, turn up on time. Develop a strong toolbox of skills, knowledge and basic experience and build up a strong network of friends and professionals who are just great people to work with.” McCarthy continues: “There are no shortcuts. Develop your ideas and then force yourself to modify them in the light of circumstances. Wait for the moment and when you go for it – remain loyal to the goal but not the detailed path in your plan – that will ALWAYS change.”
“Success is not measured, it is captured in a concept– contentment”
Asked how he defines success Conor explained: “Success is definitely not a financial number whether that’s wealth, earnings or enterprise value. It is defined with words such as customer satisfaction, product integrity, growth and sustainability (economic, environmental and governance)”. He continues: “I don’t see myself as having got anywhere particularly today, versus the person I was back in my early 20s”. Success is not measured, it is captured in a concept– contentment: “Am I happy with where we are on this journey and how we are positioned for the next stage?”
The success of any business comes from a combination of experience, knowledge, a strong vision and perseverance—plus a healthy dose of good fortune and timing. “You can be unlucky too despite getting things right. That’s when the resilience and dogged determination to succeed comes in.” This is an important lesson for us students – As he puts it: “Work hard, believe in yourself more than what others may opine. Never, ever, give up.”
