About Rick Howell

I've spent 40+ years in aviation — from the cockpit of a P-3C Orion on maritime patrol, through years flying a 737 for Qantas, then lots more time flying ultra-long haul Airbus wide-bodies at Emirates, to the boardrooms of some of Asia-Pacific's most profitable airlines and into multi-billion dollar aircraft negotiations.

My career divides roughly into three chapters.

The Flying Career

Ten years in the Royal Australian Air Force as a qualified flying instructor, maritime patrol commander, and aerobatic display pilot. Then seven years at Australian Airlines and Qantas. The operational foundation matters: I understand aircraft not only as financial abstractions but as machines that people fly, maintain, and depend on.

The Airline Executive

I joined Emirates along with its first A330 and was soon deployed into the A340 project and fleet technical domain, helping introduce the A340-300 and A340-500 and develop the fatigue risk methodology that enabled ultra-long-haul operations. I then held COO and senior operational roles at SkyAirWorld, Virgin Australia, Airnorth, and Cebu Pacific — the Philippines' largest and most profitable airline, where I served as COO, Chief Risk Officer, and CIO.

At Virgin Australia my fleet was 80+ aircraft, 1,000+ staff, and an A$1 billion annual budget. At Cebu Pacific my operations budget was many times larger. I led multiple fleet and engine acquisition campaigns to the value of US$4+ billion and meanwhile built the integrated enterprise risk function from the ground up.

The Adviser and Investor

Since 2019 I've advised airlines, investors, and boards through my consultancy, Honos Group. I served as Aviation Investments Principal at 777 Partners, co-leading a portfolio that included airlines, travel technology, and aircraft/engine acquisition — delivering US$600M+ in savings on a US$1.7B fleet programme. I currently advise clients on operations, risk, fleet and transaction strategy, and serve on boards in aviation technology, cybersecurity, and asset tokenisation.

Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (FRAeS)

Fellowship is awarded to those who have made an outstanding contribution to aerospace. It is the highest grade of membership of the RAeS, the world's oldest and most established aerospace professional body, founded in 1866.

INSEAD International Directors Programme (IDP-C)

Corporate governance certification from one of the world's leading business schools. Focused on board effectiveness, director responsibilities, and governance best practice.

Bachelor of Science (University of Melbourne)

Majoring in Pure Mathematics and Physics. Graduated 1985.

Royal Australian Air Force Academy

Graduated with Credit, 1985.

Current Activities

Beyond consulting, I'm one of the founders of RAMDVG — the company behind RAMGET™, a patent-pending platform that cryptographically couples unlimited data to blockchain tokens for aviation and other real-world asset tokenisation. When data is immutably attached to high-value assets, the applications extend far beyond aviation — to any regulated asset class where provenance creates value.

I also write on operational risk methodology. My three-part series on three-dimensional risk classification — proposing frequency as a critical third dimension alongside likelihood and consequence — has been developed over a decade of research and practice. You can read these and other articles on the Insights page.