William S. Swelbar is a Research Engineer in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s International Center for Air Transportation, where he is affiliated with the Global Airline Industry Program and Airline Industry Research Consortium.
Prior to accepting his research position at MIT, Swelbar spent 25 years in the consulting world with a focus on airline labor cost restructuring, regulatory issues governing air transport, communication strategy and support, and air service development on behalf of airports and communities. In his consulting roles, Swelbar has represented airlines, airports, investors, manufacturers, and labor groups. He also currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Hawaiian (Airlines) Holdings, Inc..
Swelbar is also a much sought-after speaker and has provided expert witness testimony before various tribunals and before the United States Congress regarding the economics of commercial air transport. Swelbar is widely quoted in the financial and mainstream press on issues impacting air transport. In addition, Swelbar is published in the Journal of Air Transport Management and is a contributing author in an upcoming textbook entitled: The Airline Industry published by Wiley Press.
Swelbar holds a Bachelor of Science degree in economics with honors from Eastern Michigan University and an MBA with a concentration in finance from The George Washington University.
Selected articles by, about, or quoting William Swelbar:
- Sydney Morning Herald - "Qantas CEO Puts His Case"
- Star-Telegram - "Delta's Vote Against Unionizing Should Make American Airlines Stop and Think"
- IATA September 2010 Soapbox with Bill Swelbar
- USA Today: "United-Continental merger raises fears of higher airfares"
- ATW / "Has The Regional Bubble Burst?"
- Loren Steffy: Merge, Fail, Merge, Fail, Repeat Often
- Perry Flint and Air Transport World Look at 2010
- MIT News Office / "3 Questions: William S. Swelbar On His Aviation Blog"
- Airline Biz: Dallas Morning News / "Swelblog is Swell" by Terry Maxon
- FlightGlobal.com / "Are US carriers really ready for competition?" by Swelbar
- Forbes.com / "America's Most Reliable Airlines" by Rebecca Ruiz
- Forbes.com / "Don’t Blame Alliances for Airline Problems" by William Swelbar
- Chron.com / "All airline eyes are on Texas" by Loren Steffy
- AJC.com / "'Open skies' deal just a beginning for airlines" by Russell Grantham
- Times Online / "Soaring oil price sets airlines on course to recession, expert says" by Suzy Jagger
- Star Tribune / "NWA-Delta merger 'on life support'" by Liz Fedor
- Foreign Policy / "Prime Numbers: Change Is in the Air" by Swelbar
- The Street.com / "United's Unions Want Their Due" by Ted Reed
The following are a few selected links to materials from speeches and presentations by William Swelbar over the years:
- AAAE Southeast Chapter Annual Conference, April 2010, "Talkin' Consolidation" (PDF)
- 35th Annual FAA Aviation Forecast Conferencee, March 2010, "The Future of Scope Clauses" (PDF)
- ACI-NA Airport Economics and Finance Conference, April 2009, "Re-configuring an Industry 'Too Big'" (PDF)
- Aero Club of Washington, February 2009, "Remarks of William S. Swelbar" (PDF)
- ACI International Issues Seminar, December 2008, "Aviation Industry Update and Market Outlook" (PDF)
- 2nd Annual MIT Airline Industry Conference, April 2003, "Low Cost Carriers: Thou Shall Not Inherit the Earth" (PDF)
- Sloan Forum: Capitol Hill, January 2002, "Ten things we'll be watching closely that will impact the structure of the US Airline Industry" (PDF)