Joseph David Randell

Born in Curling, Newfoundland, in 1954, Joe has been an aviation fan his entire life. He began to work in the airline industry as a student, first for Air Canada and then at Eastern Provincial Airways. For his MBA, Joe undertook a research study on passenger preferences and developed a marketing plan for the start up of a new airline. His project was the basis for the creation of what would become Air Nova, which he helped found in 1986.

Deregulation during the mid-1980s completely changed Canada’s airline industry, and Joe recognized an opportunity to fill a niche for regional travel. In a country where national airlines were geared towards large jets, smaller markets were often poorly served with limited or infrequent service. But with smaller turboprops, and later with regional jets, regional carriers could step in to fill a gap while acting as feeder services to the bigger nationals.

Based on this plan, Air Nova formally launched with a fleet of two De Havilland Dash 8s and 40 employees on 14 July 1986, with Joe as Executive Vice President and as President one year later. The new airline served communities in Atlantic Canada by offering regular point-to-point service, and by connecting the region to Air Canada’s national network via Halifax and St. John’s. Air Nova was the first regional carrier to operate under the Air Canada code and to be branded an ‘Air Canada Connector’. The model proved a success: the initial business plan called for expanding the fleet to six turboprops by 1991, but by the early 1990s Air Nova was already operating 10 turboprops, as well as six BAE 146 regional jets. In 1989, Air Nova placed options on the 50-seat Canadair regional jet ‘RJ’ and was the first airline in the world to so.

In 1991, Air Canada purchased Air Nova outright, making it the first regional carrier to be 100% owned by the national airline. Over the next few years Air Nova continued to expand beyond Atlantic Canada and into the United States.  What had started as a small east coast regional grew into a company with over 700 employees, operating 22 aircraft to 19 destinations.

Impressed by his successes at Air Nova, Air Canada appointed Joe as chair of its Short-Haul Strategic Review Project in 1997, which was considering the future of the airline’s regional carriers. So began a new era in his involvement with Air Nova and Air Canada: regional mergers.

Towards the end of the millennium, Joe saw an opportunity to further expand Air Nova – a merger with the Quebec-based carrier Air Alliance. Air Canada had initially considered putting the airline up for sale, but Joe made the case for it merging with Air Nova. The merged airline, under the Air Nova name, now employed more than 1,000, and operated a fleet of 42 aircraft. The success of this merger meant that Air Canada soon tasked Joe with overseeing the further consolidation of the other major regionals in Canada – AirBC and Air Ontario. Canadian Regional was later added to the consolidation following the Air Canada/Canadian Airlines merger.

Merging Air Nova with Air Alliance was no simple matter, but consolidating four major regional carriers across Canada proved to be infinitely more complex. Although the airline industry was deregulated, the federal government imposed significant conditions and restrictions on the process, which added massive costs and complexity, and increased the time it took to finalize the consolidation. The airlines also had internal challenges: 26 labour agreements had to be condensed into five, different fleets of aircraft needed to be maintained and rationalized, as did the infrastructure of regional airlines based across the country. As Joe explained, “We were faced with a very complex and onerous merger.” The environment was one of constant change and anxiety. One thing all stakeholders had in common was that no one was happy. It was Joe’s leadership and communication that helped keep the process focused.

The early 2000s were difficult times in the airline industry. Low-cost providers were becoming increasingly competitive. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, air travel became significantly more expensive, as increased security, screening, and regulations put serious pressure on the industry. Despite these challenges, in March 2002 a new regional carrier emerged: Air Canada Jazz.

A year later Canada was badly hit by the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which affected Toronto, the largest hub city for the newly formed Jazz. Traffic disappeared at an alarming rate and the situation was no longer sustainable. Air Canada filed for bankruptcy protection that April, and, under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), Jazz was part of the filing.

Joe led the airline through a difficult restructuring process that included employee rollbacks, the renegotiation of collective agreements, lease arrangements, as well as a host of other contracts – all to reduce costs and strengthen Jazz. Upon emergence from CCAA in 2004, the company updated its commercial agreement with Air Canada, moving from a pro-rate model to a Capacity Purchase Agreement (CPA). Over the next few years, Joe and his team continued looking for ways to ensure Jazz would grow. They hired hundreds of new employees and added 63 regional jets to their fleet. By 2005, Jazz had become one of Canada’s largest airlines and, a year later, a decision was reached to take the company public.

Having survived the recession of 2008, considered by many to be the worst since the Great Depression, in 2011, Joe launched the next stage in his career: Chorus Aviation, which was formed as a result of the conversion of the Jazz Air Income Fund to a dividend paying corporate structure. Joe explained the name as one that reflected the long-awaited diversification of the business: “We selected a name that was reflective of our company culture – coming together in harmony, which is what a chorus is.” Joe and the Chorus team successfully renegotiated their CPA agreement with Air Canada, initially extending it to 2020, then to 2025, and again until to 2035. Chorus further diversified in early 2015 by acquiring Voyageur Airways of North Bay, Ontario, a leading provider of specialized aviation services with international operations.

The creation of Chorus Aviation Capital (CAC), in early 2017, was another major milestone in the diversification of Chorus. The objective was to build CAC into a global aircraft lessor with a diverse customer base and fleet of regional jet and turboprop aircraft in the 70- to 150-seat range. By 2021, CAC’s fleet of 64 aircraft – a diversified fleet of the best regional aircraft types manufactured by ATR, Bombardier/Mitsubishi, Embraer and Airbus – were on lease to 12 brand-name regional airlines located in 11 countries spanning five continents.

Onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 delivered another major shock to the airline industry. Although Chorus’ business model shielded it from some of the risks faced by airlines, the company was not immune to the prolonged uncertainty and instability triggered by the pandemic, and it took all measures to ensure the safety of its employees and to support its community, while prudently managing its financial resources for recovery.

In May of 2022, under Joe’s leadership, Chorus completed the acquisition of Falko Regional Aircraft Limited, a market leading aircraft asset management company based in the UK.  The transformative transaction was financed through an investment from another strong Canadian company, Brookfield, and has positioned Chorus well for future growth.

Throughout his career, Joe’s leadership has extended beyond his tenure at Chorus, Jazz, or Air Nova; he has served the airline industry through stints as Chair of the National Airlines Council of Canada, as Director of the Regional Airlines Association in the United States, and as Chair and past Director of Air Transport Association of Canada. He also believes strongly in giving back, and has partnered closely with his alma mater, Dalhousie University, and its faculty of Engineering.  In recognition of his contribution, he was presented with an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree. In the community, Joe has worked with the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, and currently sits as a Director of the MS Scientific Research Foundation.