Automated report. This article was drafted by software from the sources listed below, checked automatically against them, and read by the editor, Sam Allcock, before it was published. Law Week labels every article produced this way. A person is answerable for it: if something here is wrong, write to editor@lawweek.co.uk and we will correct it on the page and say what changed.
Clyde & Co said in an announcement on its website on 26 October 2026 that it had recruited aviation partners Dave Pflieger and Tannie Kwong.
Key points
- Clyde & Co said in an announcement on its website on 26 October 2026 that it had hired aviation partners Dave Pflieger and Tannie Kwong.
- Dave Pflieger is based in Atlanta, San Francisco and Washington DC and has more than three decades of experience spanning legal, financial, commercial, operational and aviation safety roles.
- He is a former five-time airline CEO who was a founding officer of Virgin America and led the turnaround of Air Pacific into Fiji Airways, and has also been chief executive of Silver Airways, Hawaii Island Air, Ravn Air Group and Flybe.
- Tannie Kwong is based in Hong Kong and has close to 20 years of experience as a disputes lawyer, with 14 of those years concentrated on trade and transport work.
- Mr Kwong joins from Cathay Pacific, where he worked as Senior Legal Counsel and then led a 250-strong global team as Head of Customer Support.
Roles and experience
Dave Pflieger has previously worked as a General Counsel, Chief Operating Officer, board member and Director of Flight Safety, and has flown as a commercial airline captain and Air Force instructor pilot. At Delta Air Lines he worked as an Operations Attorney and Director of Flight Safety, then moved to become Vice President of Operations at the airline’s low-cost carrier, Song. The announcement said he would bolster the firm’s aviation work across North America and other regions, covering growth, transformation, regulatory compliance, crisis prevention and preparedness, commercial disputes, incidents and investigations, as well as cybersecurity and AI.
Tannie Kwong worked in Sydney as a lawyer handling transport and commercial litigation matters before joining Cathay Pacific. The announcement said his appointment would help the firm serve aviation clients in the Asia Pacific region on a large volume of passenger claims, regulatory compliance, legal risk management and the handling of passenger rights and consumer regulation issues.
Reaction
Dave Pflieger said he was “delighted to be joining Clyde & Co. and its team of world-class aviation lawyers.” Kevin Sutherland, Partner and Chair of the Global Aviation Practice Group, said the hires reflected the firm’s “commitment to providing clients with market-leading aviation expertise wherever they operate.”