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BSME’77

About Fred Kocher

After a successful career in the airline industry, Fred Kocher decided in 2002 to retire and enjoy more time with his family. Kocher earned his BSME from Pitt in 1977 and also holds a degree in aeronautics from Saint Louis University and an MS in engineering management from the University of Missouri. He spent nearly his entire career with USAirways, joining the airline in 1970 as a structures and power plant engineer, steadily moving up the corporate ladder over the next quarter century to his final position, senior vice president of maintenance operations, which he held from 1990 to 1994.

He served the next five years with engine maker Rolls-Royce North America as senior vice president of customer support, working out of the company’s major manufacturing operation in Indianapolis, Ind. In 2001, he took on a brief role as an advisor and consultant to United Airlines in Chicago, but the terrorist attacks that took place later that year led to the termination of the projects he was involved with there.

Coming out of Retirement

The relationships he developed in Chicago during this time led to his current post retirement position, which may be his biggest challenge yet. AAR Corp., a Chicago-based global supplier of aviation services, had recently purchased an expansive, 2 million-square-foot aircraft maintenance facility at the Indianapolis International Airport that had been vacant for two years. Built between 1992 and 1994 by United Airlines, “it was at the time the most advanced and efficient heavy maintenance facility in the world,” according to Kocher. But cutbacks in the airline industry have resulted in nearly every major airline sending their planes to private contractors for heavy maintenance. AAR needed someone who knew how to build a major maintenance operation from the ground up, and for Kocher, the opportunity was too much to pass up. He became general manager of AAR Aircraft Services in Indianapolis. “I have many colleagues and friends from over the years at AAR,” Kocher says, “and I came out of my retirement for this position because they knew my reputation, that I could do this.”

Retaining a Competitive Edge

With a state-of-the-art facility at his disposal, you might think Kocher had it easy attracting new business and hiring the highly skilled mechanics and engineers needed to work on some of the world’s largest passenger and commercial aircraft. “The state of the industry today means every airline is watching how every penny is spent, so we have to be extremely competitive in our bids to work on their planes,” Kocher says. He’s been successful thus far, landing work with American Airlines, Northwest Airlines, ATA, and ironically, United Airlines, his building’s former owner. He’s made progress on staffing as well, but it hasn’t been easy. “We started out with 50 employees and are now at 730. We’ve just celebrated our first operating anniversary. If the orders keep coming in, we obviously have the room to grow.”

Inspiring the Next Generation

Once the maintenance facility is fully operational and AAR feels comfortable, Kocher intends to step away and retire—this time for good. “I’ve had a very enjoyable career in a highly challenging industry, and I have great feelings for the preparation my Pitt engineering degree provided.” Kocher was recognized for his accomplishments by the Swanson School of Engineering in 2004 when he was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award by the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He has also served as a member of the school’s Board of Visitors since 1992. Kocher adds that he and his wife, Gloria, have three daughters, the youngest of whom just earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University in 2005, “so it looks like another generation of Kochers will be taking to the skies.”

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