Episode 65 is out today with guest Karl Loken!
Karl began his aviation career in 2007 with Air Georgian/Air Canada Express, as an Inventory Controller in supply-chain to support the Beech 1900D aircraft; concurrently training under Centennial College’s Parts Technician Apprenticeship red seal trade certification program.
In 2013, he joined Sky Regional Airlines/Air Canada Express as a Lead Materials Coordinator, Stores & Material Control department at YYZ for the Embraer 175 fleet transition from Air Canada mainline to Air Canada Express operations.
In late 2014, at age 25, Karl was presented with an opportunity to join Emirates Airlines in Dubai, UAE to help develop the Materials Management Department for its new $120 million Emirates Engine Maintenance Centre (EEMC), the largest engine (Maintenance Repair Organization) MRO in the Middle East, which supports the power-plant repair and overhaul for the GE90-115B and GP7200 engines for the Boeing 777-200LR/-300ER and Airbus A380 respectively. He also leveraged the support of Emirates to complete a Master’s degree in Aviation Management.
After working for close to four years for Emirates Airlines, Karl in 2018 returned home to Toronto as Stores Duty Manager for Air Canada’s YYZ Hub. At Pearson International Airport, he managed the project development and transition of the logistics and supply footprint within the largest freestanding, commercial aircraft hangar in Canada (Bay 5), built at a cost of $90 million. In 2020, his role at Air Canada expanded to include serving as Regional Manager, SCM Operations at YYZ. His role further expanded to being promoted to General Manager, Logistics & Warehousing, and was responsible for Air Canada’s Logistics department across the various bases system wide.
Upon Karl’s return to Canada, he concurrently worked to also earn his Commercial Pilot’s License and Group 1 Multi IFR rating. He is now currently flying as a First Officer on the Dash 8-100/300 for Voyageur Airways.
He is a holder of an M.B.A in Aviation Management, an accredited Member of The Royal Aeronautical Society, and an accredited Member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport.
He has been a member of the Urban Pilots Network (UPN) since 2007, and a member of Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP) since 2017.
Karl can be found on instagram @lokalizer1 and on Linkedin.
