Bloomberg is streamlining its global aviation coverage

Bloomberg News senior executive editor Brian Bremner and European managing editor Eric Pfanner sent a memo to the newsroom announcing the changes:

Hi all,

Commercial aviation is a quintessentially global undertaking, connecting suppliers, aircraft manufacturers, economies and even cultures. We think it’s time to make our coverage as seamlessly cross-border as the industry itself.

Toward that end, we’re creating a unified aerospace and defense team of reporters and editors worldwide. It will be led by Benedikt Kammel, who joins us from the EMEA Editing Hub as this group’s global editorial leader based in Berlin. Anthony Palazzo will take on a new role as Senior Editor focused on enterprise and projects, while Senior Reporter Siddharth Philip will widen his responsibilities as deputy team leader. This leadership trio will continue to work closely with the US and Asia transportation crews run by Chester Dawson and Katrina Nicholas that cover legacy automakers, EV startups and all things Tesla and Elon Musk.

When duty calls, both groups will be expected to share resources to cover breaking news. The same holds true for our expanding space economy coverage, as we search for a dedicated editor and build out a coalition of reporters across various teams worldwide. Then there is our business of travel initiative under Nikki Ekstein with the Pursuits group.

Breaking big aviation news requires expertise, planning and coordination of tips and sources. We think Europe’s time zone advantage between regions will allow us to better organize and integrate the coverage, and relieve some of the heavy editing burdens that fall on the currently combined aviation-transportation groups in the US and Asia.

Benny is one of the most collaborative editorial minds in the Bloomberg newsroom, and speaks no fewer than four languages. In a career spanning more than two decades, he has covered utilities, industrial conglomerates, technology — and has written extensively about Airbus and, sadly, tragedies like the crash of Air France 447. He has managed bureaus, company coverage across Europe and the Middle East, and edited or authored numerous Big Takes and Businessweek features. His story smarts and professionalism have made him a long-time favorite with reporters.

Tony started his Bloomberg career in Los Angeles, where as an entertainment TL and bureau chief he tracked Netflix’s rise and produced award-winning coverage of the 2014 hack of Sony Pictures. As European aviation team leader and coverage czar, Tony deserves enormous credit for beginning the process of bringing the regional teams closer together. That integration paid off as we used data to track aviation’s fitful response to the pandemic, and followed the travails of the Russian airline industry following the invasion of Ukraine.

Sid is one of the most productive scoop artists in aviation journalism. He has worked with Anurag Kotoky and Julie Johnsson to deliver exclusives on major airplane orders by Air India and market-moving, production cuts at Boeing. His enterprise work of the post-invasion turmoil in the Russian aviation industry has also been impressive. The broader aerospace and defense world is facing an array of disruptive challenges — supply chain shocks, geopolitical uncertainty, Big Tech intruders, shifting regulatory hurdles, and scrutiny about its massive carbon footprint.

It’s a great story. Now, let’s own it.

Eric and Brian