AFTER working in the
industry for 57 years,
Butch Williams, airline
strategy manager of
Pentravel, has retired and
will serve his last day on
March 31. “I have been in
the travel industry since
leaving school, so finally
saying farewell is going to
be very sad.”
Before starting at
Pentravel 22 years ago,
Butch worked for SAA for
35 years in a number of
roles, from running sales
to managing the airport.
He is a well-respected
personality and has
brought an abundance of
knowledge, expertise and
humour to the industry.
Sean Hough, ceo of
Pentravel, says everyone at
the agency always thought
Butch would be around
long after everyone else
had left. “Butch has been
key to the formation and
development of Pentravel.
He is a true travel industry
legend and we are
privileged to have worked
with him,” says Sean.
Jimmy Eichelgruen, sales
director for Africa, Middle
East and India of Delta Air
Lines, remembers Butch
from the days when a
Durban to Johannesburg
fare was just R29. “Back
then, all fares were
calculated
manually. It was
a complicated
and timeconsuming
process,
yet Butch’s
expertise was
legendary and
made him SAA’s
go-to person for
travel agents
with fare-related
issues. He
became my
mentor as I
developed my
airline career – I couldn’t
have had a better teacher.”
Mary Shilleto, ceo of
Thompsons Travel, also
has fond memories of
Butch, who
she calls “the
gentle giant”.
“He has
contributed
hugely to
our industry,
he worked
closely with
all the leading
airlines and
his knowledge
certainly
benefited our
group.”
For the past
year Butch
has slowly been handing
over to Vicky Steinhardt,
land product manager of
Pentravel, who will take
over from him.
