O B I T UA RY Obituary Captain Mike Jeffery, 1945-2024 Three criteria by which it would be fair to judge a pilot manager are: their achievements; how far up the management ladder they climbed; and how much they earned the trust and respect of their fellow pilots. Mike Jeffery who sadly died in May 2024 had an outstanding record in all three of these categories. Mike was an early graduate from Hamble before joining the then BEA. Fast-forward to the end of his career, and senior management had found him a seat on the board of British Airways. He achieved this on the back of a reputation for being clear thinking, articulate, determined and unwaveringly constructive. He was talent spotted as a BALPA representative before being selected as assistant flight manager in one of BAs more challenging environments in Scotland. He got his command on the Viscount there and was BAs youngest captain at the age of 29. A post as technical manager on the 1-11 followed before becoming flight crew manager for the 737 fleet. A task that would have defeated a lesser man was resolving the seniority issues thrown up by the merger of BA and British Caledonian. Long-haul flying eventually beckoned, so Mike converted onto the 747, which he flew until his retirement. In 1989, he was sent to Harvard for a business course, which led to his appointment as general manager for BA engineering. Two notable achievements in that role were the reorganisation of the heavy-maintenance department and the setting up of a maintenance base in Cardiff, with the support of the Welsh government. A spell as director of flight crew followed, culminating in a seat on the main BA board until his retirement in 2001. Mike never forgot that he was a pilot at heart; in fact, he was very proud of that. A prime example of this pride was his drive to develop the Captains for The Future programme and the Command Development Course. He was the driving force behind these and he secured the resources to make them happen. He then tasked Dave Lusher with producing a remarkable programme to assist BA pilots to become more effective captains. Mikes commitment to this was absolute and he sacrificed many Sunday evenings to get the course started. Given how much pilots hate sitting in classrooms, it is testament to Mike that the end-of-course feedback was almost universally positive. He trusted and respected his fellow pilots, which is why he earned trust and respect in return. Mike was an outdoor man, and loved pheasant shooting and skiing, and was very proud of his single-figure golf handicap. He enjoyed watching cricket and was a member of Lords. Post-retirement, Mike travelled extensively and spent time at his property in Cornwall. He is survived by his widow, Sue, whom he married in 2003, two daughters, Letty and Helen, and four grandchildren, of whom he was very proud. By Ron Ball 57 THE LOG Autumn 24 pp56-57 Obit_V2 copy.indd 57 13/11/2024 15:02