Airline Industrys Top Lobbying Group Will Retain Its Republican Chief – Forbes

Nick Calio will remain president of the Air Transport Association (Photo by Scott J. Ferrell)

Nick Calio, the Republican president and CEO of the lobbying group for the U.S. airline industry, will remain on the job despite the transition to the Biden administration.

Calios stay was confirmed by a source with knowledge of the thinking of the board of Airlines for America, which represents seven of the largest passenger airlines as well as three top cargo airlines.

We look forward to Calios continued leadership as the U.S. airline industry looks towards recovery from this unprecedented crisis, A4A said Saturday, in an email.

Speculation regarding Calios continued service has circulated since Joe Biden won election as president on November 3rd.

Calio is a longtime Republican who ran legislative affairs office for both President George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.

Calio took over at A4A in January 2011, moving from a job as a top lobbyist for Citibank. He replaced Jim May at the behest of Glenn Tilton, the former Texaco CEO who became CEO of United Airlines and A4A chairman.

Calio is one of Washingtons top paid lobbyists, collecting about $4 million annually, according to the website Nonprofitlight.com.

The airline industry is a visible one, but it has never had a particularly influential role in Washington. The biggest passenger airlines are not giant companies, relatively speaking, but rather have annual revenue in the $50 billion range. Even the two big overnight cargo carriers, A4A members FedEx and UPS, are bigger: each has annual revenue in the $70 billion range.

Nevertheless, in the coronavirus crisis, airlines did better than many other industries, securing targeted relief packages in both stimulus bills passed by Congress. In March, the Cares Act included $31 billion for airline employees. The December stimulus include $15 billion for airline employees and another $1 billion for employees of airline contractors.

The packages were largely a result of extensive lobbying by airline labor unions, who worked closely with the carriers and A4A.

Labor took it over, but we also had to get the airlines, said a union source who asked not to be named.Once they got on board, Nick has been a great partner. In the past year, theyve done everything we asked.

In fact, Calio has regularly been lauded for an ability to build consensus. But he is not not universally esteemed by airline labor.

Calio has always been seen as highly partisan, said Peter Goeltz, a longtime Democratic lobbyist and former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board.

Goeltz noted that A4A has been stocked with Republicans, including Rebecca Spicer, the wife of former Trump White House Press Secretary spokesman Sean Spicer, as senior vice president of communications, reporting directly to Calio. She also worked in the George W. Bush White House.

With a new administration coming in, theres got to be some wholesale changes at the top of A4A or the air carriers will have to get used to having a little less influence. Goeltz said.

Even working together, A4A and airline labor were unable to get the U.S. Department of Transportation to take a stand on requiring passengers to wear masks or mandating airlines to keep middle seats empty, Goeltz said.

Now, incoming President Biden has said he will require masks on mass transportation and Delta is the only airline that keeps middle seats empty.

According to the A4A website, Under Calios leadership, A4A rebranded and honed its focus on being an influential voice in helping to shape legislative and regulatory policies and priorities that improve air travel for everyone.

Known for his ability to build consensus, Calio focused the re-launched association on working collaboratively with airlines, labor unions, Congress and the Administration to promote safety, security and a healthy U.S. airline industry, the website says.

It also says that as President George W. Bushs principal liaison to Congress, Calio worked closely with the leadership and members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and had the primary responsibility for formulating and implementing White House strategy on all legislative issues. He held the same position during the administration of President George H.W. Bush.

A graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, Calio is now vice president of the universitys board of trustees. He also graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

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Airline Industrys Top Lobbying Group Will Retain Its Republican Chief - Forbes