Chrystal Zhang

Associate professor, RMIT University
Chrystal is an associate professor of aerospace engineering & aviation , STEM College, School of Engineering, RMIT University. She is also a program manager of Boeing (BP070, BP345 and BP284)

She holds a PhD in Air Transport Management from Cranfield University, and has developed her expertise throughout her years of industry experience working in both public and private sectors including governments, world-renowned aviation consultancy firms, and high education institutions worldwide.

She has expertise in airline business models (full service carriers and low cost carriers), open skies and airline liberalisation, airport positioning and marketing and hubbing strategies, pilot licensing, air travellers behaviour and impact on safety and wellbeing, cabin safety, flight training, with specific hands-on competence in airline licensing, foreign investment in airline/airport industry, and route development.

Before becoming an academia in 2011, she was Director of Greater China of the Route Development Group Ltd (including both Routes and ASM, currently part of informa), looking after the group’s business strategy and operations in Chinese market. She led the multicultural team to provide strategic advice to high-calibre clients of aviation and tourism industry and local governments.

Prior to that, she was business development manager and consultant of Mango Aviation Partners, a boutique firm specialising in advising low cost start-ups. Before that, she worked for Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) specialising in bilateral air service agreement negotiation and implementation, route licensing and airline alliances.

She has tens of publications in high-impact refereed journals and has spoken widely at seminars and conferences. She appears often in Australia and Chinese media, such as ABC NEWS 24, ABC National Radio, Chins Daily, commenting on airline/airport strategic issues.

She has been active in Aviation/Aerospace Australia (A/AA) since 2011 and was an Executive Committee member of Women in Aviation/Aerospace Australia (WA/AA) between 2001 and 2016.