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A R C H I V E S O B I T U A R Y Michael J. Canney, who served as top cargo executive at Singapore Airlines in the United States for more than 20 years, died of cancer at home in Buffalo, New York December 10th. He was 67 years old.Mike followed John Allen as the carrier’s second cargo sales and service manager in America and was the chief architect who guided the development of Singapore Airlines cargo business during its formative years. Mike’s old boss, Mr. Teng Aun Hwang President Singapore Airlines Cargo told Air Cargo news: “I am saddened by the passing of Mike. He was a friend and a valued part of Singapore Airlines Cargo. His dedication was well known to all his colleagues and his heart was always in the right place. Our deepest condolences are extended to Mike's family and friends. He will be missed by all of us."
He was a key part of a dynamic team, which grew Singapore Cargo from a DC-8 freighter, with barely a toe hold in San Francisco and the North American market, into a mighty transportation resource respected worldwide. Later, when the carrier expanded services to Los Angeles and eventually to New York, Mike, always a dreamer and a doer, displayed the Canney ability to be in many places, at times seemingly all at once. He knew his market and maybe better than that, he appreciated and respected his customers. He never stopped letting people know that he valued their business. Mike pioneered the holding of business/social events for agents and other partners in air cargo, long before that format was in fashion. Mike was also what is called ‘a loner.’ He liked friendships, but not for advantage, preferring true relationships. He did his job, but stayed away from the well-worn circuit of convenient airport and industry social occasions. He was never all that interested in press coverage either. He never wanted anything from anybody, it seemed. But SIA Cargo holds were filled to the brim for all the years that “Steady Mike” was at the North American sales and service helm. Perhaps less known, is that Mike Canney would always stand up and help most anyone in need. Once at lunch, we spoke as we traveled to his favorite noontime haunt just off the Imperial Highway near LAX. Mike told of his long relationship with Singapore. “I guess that I’m just lucky,” he said. “Singaporeans are so cultured and developed as a society. I doubt that Americans who see everything here as bigger and better, recognize the value of what is to be learned from people in other parts of the world. “We better sharpen our skills and learn how to handle ourselves because the world is getting smaller everyday.” At the time I didn’t think much about what Mike said. But every day Mainland China opens up air cargo to cities that most Americans have never heard of. An airline called Emirates prepares to fly non-stop from Dubai to New York. Just a few weeks ago we heard on the news that the Emirate, Qatar, which most Americans pronounce as “Kataar,” is correctly pronounced “Cutter.” Mike Canney’s observations one sunny day in 1995 seem even more remarkable. Another time while at LAX with Mike, I learned that a friend of mine, an old newspaper buddy and then a top writer for the Orange County Register, had died suddenly of a heart attack. His name was Jack Wood. We knew each other well, our wives shared secrets, our kids had played together when they lived in New York and he had worked at the New York Daily News. As I was about to return to New York and had no car, Mike insisted that I take his to get to my friend’s house. But then Mike filled up the back seat with all kinds of airline giveaways that he must have collected on a thousand FAM trips. “Give ’em to the kids,” he said softly. Mike Canney was a good guy. He had retired from Singapore Airlines two years ago, returning to his ancestral family home in Buffalo, New York where it snows all the time. I often wondered how he handled moving from an air-conditioned life in Southern California to Lake Erie-driven snow from October until April. Farewell and soft landings, old friend. Geoffrey Arend |
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