traveler
March 7, 2002, 07:23 AM
US Airways named David Siegel, the 40-year-old head of Cendant's Avis Rent-A-Car, as president, CEO and a board member of the holding company and airline.
Stephen Wolf, who reassumed the role of CEO in Nov. following the surprise resignation of Rakesh Gangwal, will retain the title of chairman of both companies in a nonexecutive capacity.
Siegel will have the unenviable task of reversing a two-year profit slide that included a $1.97 billion loss in 2001 and has his work cut out for him in trying to persuade the airline's pilots to go along with plans for increased regional jet flying by codeshare partners. But he is no stranger to airline crises or RJs. He is widely credited with helping to turn around Continental Express when he was president of the unit in 1995-99, a period that saw the Regional join the RJ revolution, boost operating performance and refocus its operation around Continental Airlines' Cleveland, Houston and Newark hubs.
Siegel is described as extremely intelligent with a strong math sense that aided him in evaluating the pros and cons of the RJ decision. While at Express he also attracted talented managers to do the fleet analysis and planning that justified the decision. He is said to have excellent insight into pricing and revenue management modeling. As president of Continental Express he improved the unit's profit contribution by $250 million annually, US Airways said. Prior to joining Continental he served as director-corporate planning at Northwest Airlines.
Stephen Wolf, who reassumed the role of CEO in Nov. following the surprise resignation of Rakesh Gangwal, will retain the title of chairman of both companies in a nonexecutive capacity.
Siegel will have the unenviable task of reversing a two-year profit slide that included a $1.97 billion loss in 2001 and has his work cut out for him in trying to persuade the airline's pilots to go along with plans for increased regional jet flying by codeshare partners. But he is no stranger to airline crises or RJs. He is widely credited with helping to turn around Continental Express when he was president of the unit in 1995-99, a period that saw the Regional join the RJ revolution, boost operating performance and refocus its operation around Continental Airlines' Cleveland, Houston and Newark hubs.
Siegel is described as extremely intelligent with a strong math sense that aided him in evaluating the pros and cons of the RJ decision. While at Express he also attracted talented managers to do the fleet analysis and planning that justified the decision. He is said to have excellent insight into pricing and revenue management modeling. As president of Continental Express he improved the unit's profit contribution by $250 million annually, US Airways said. Prior to joining Continental he served as director-corporate planning at Northwest Airlines.