The love of engineering/mechanics, and a fascination with aircraft and flying attracted Diarmuid O'Shea to aviation.
O'Shea spent his first five years completing an apprenticeship and obtaining his basic aeronautical engineering certificates with Team Aer Lingus at Dublin Airport, Ireland. To expand his horizons and to learn the trade he worked throughout Europe as a contract engineer, traveling and experiencing all of the different facets and branches of aviation from commercial line and base maintenance to the same in general aviation and business aviation.
He came to Hong Kong to continue his career path working first with Metrojet, the leading business aviation management company in Asia and part of the Kadoorie Group. There, he built up his base of local knowledge, while learning and embracing the cultural differences. At the time, Metrojet managed approximately 28 aircraft, most of which were large cabin business jets. He then transitioned to Hongkong Jet and has been lucky enough to contribute and participate in its growth over the past few years. In his current role with Hongkong Jet, as head of maintenance, he is running the maintenance department, putting the building blocks in place to ensure the company can continue to grow.
O'Shea holds three aircraft maintenance licenses - EASA B1, FAA A&P, and HKCAD B1/C. With those licenses he has trained on and holds type-ratings for Bombardier Global Express and Challenger CL604/605, Gulfstream G550 and GIV-X Series, Cessna Citation Sovereign and Citation X, and Airbus A320 Family aircraft.
Nominated by Mike Walsh, CEO, Asia Air: "Diarmuid has worked with me for the past eight years in Hong Kong, with Asia Jet being Hongkong Jet's client. Diarmuid has always been our go to for our maintenance issues, scheduled and unscheduled and his commitment and knowledge of problem solving to keep our aircraft in the skies with one of the busiest charter fleets in Asia especially Hong Kong has been second to none. Even when things are beyond his control, he goes the extra mile to speed things along and chase down vendors for quicker updates. He always answers his cell phone 24/7 even on his days off when he climbs mountains, a passion of his. He has climbed some of the highest peaks in the world and I think that in itself shows the character of the man to face what seems impossible challenges and find a way to push on and get the job done in a safe and professional manner."
O'Shea says, "It can sometimes be challenging for westerners to move to Asia and settle into an engineering job given many of the logistical challenges we face in Asia Pacific region. It requires knowledge and patience beyond the task in hand, which in itself that only comes from experience and trial and error. It can be somewhat frustrating at times, with things beyond your control due to a lack of understanding or suitable regulations that cater to non-scheduled business aviation operations. We have also recently seen initiatives by non-profit associations like Asian Business Aviation Association to get more involved in engaging young talent and encouraging them to join our field so this is a direction I am looking to get more involved in also."
As for the future, he wants to continue to grow his knowledge base through continuous learning, enjoying work, travelling, and experiencing different cultures as he goes. "Hopefully I can imprint some more of my own knowledge on those that I meet along the way. Career-wise, the sky is the limit as they say, I look forward to enjoying more responsibility and seeing the positive results. Aviation at the end of the day is a people business and a collective team effort where ultimately, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
