KaiserAir, Inc. President Honored By The FAA

KaiserAir, Inc. President, Ronald J. Guerra, was honored by the FAA with the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award on April 11, 2011. Guerra received the prestigious lifetime achievement award for his aviation expertise and more than 60 years of safe pilot operations. FAA official Guy Minor recognized Guerra at a celebration attended by family members, friends, KaiserAir employees, and FAA staff.

Ronald Guerra

Guerra joined KaiserAir in 1960 as a captain on a DC-3, which was the extent of the company’s flight department. He was elected to his current position as President in 1979, when he and other senior pilots purchased the organization following the voluntary liquidation of Kaiser Steel Corporation. Under Guerra’s leadership, KaiserAir today is an independent, successful company with a staff of over 120 employees in two locations: Oakland, CA, at Oakland International Airport and Santa Rosa, CA, at Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport.

With more than 25,000 hours of flight time, Guerra has flown to six continents including flights into China, Australia, and Russia. He has flown all of the Gulfstream products, from the GI to the GV, plus Cessna Citation, Learjet, Hawker, Falcon, and Lockheed JetStar.

Guerra served as a member of the NBAA Board of Directors from 1967 to 1976, and was chairman of the NBAA Safety and Awards Committee from 1968 to 1973. He served on the boards of Aeronautical Radio Inc. and ARINC Research. He was also a member of the Gulfstream Pilots Advisory Board.

In 2005, Guerra was the recipient of the John P. “Jack” Doswell award, which recognizes lifelong individual achievement in support of the aims, goals, and objectives of business aviation. In 2010, he accepted the NBAA 60 Year Safe Flying Achievement Award for KaiserAir’s history of unblemished aviation safety. In March 2011, KaiserAir (led by Guerra), was the first air carrier to successfully complete FAR 121 Certification and ETOPS simultaneously and become a member of a small special group of air carriers certified to operate aircraft under FAR Parts 91, 121, and 135. The company is the second Oakland home-based air carrier in Oakland’s airport history.

Prior to joining KaiserAir, Guerra was a pilot for various airlines including Resort Airlines and World Airways in Oakland, CA, during which time he became, at the age of 23, the youngest four-engine airline captain in the United States. For the past 60 years, he has been and continues to be totally involved in the flying industry. Ron and his wife, Russey Jane, reside in Pleasanton, CA. They have three adult age children and five grandchildren.

FMI: www.KaiserAir.com, www.faa.gov