Oct. 23 (UPI) — American Airlines announced Thursday it is onboarding a new commercial chief as the air carrier seeks to match its rivals.
Company officials revealed Nathaniel Pieper will be American Airlines’ next chief commercial officer effective Nov. 3.
“Nat is a world-class, results-oriented leader who has achieved tremendous success throughout his entire career,” said American CEO Robert Isom, adding that Pieper was “well-versed in the airline business, having led teams across multiple” different airline conglomerates.
Pieper, 56, currently sits as CEO of the Oneworld alliance in a collaborative that includes a number of airlines, including American and British Airways. His prior experience included high-level positions in finance, networks and fleet strategy.
“Nat’s experience and expertise, coupled with his recent work with us leading oneworld, make him incredibly well-suited to lead our Commercial team moving forward,” added Isom in a statement.
Pieper, who will report directly to Isom, replaced Vasu Raju after a corporate business-travel strategy failed its goal and ignited fierce pushback from travel industry leaders.
“He is exactly the kind of leader we want at American — collaborative and a great people leader with a relentless focus on delivering results while keeping an eye to the future,” Isom said in a staff note seen by CNBC.
Pieper joined American after time at Northwest Airlines, Delta and Alaska Airlines after entering the industry in the late 1990s.
He will oversee, among other departments, American’s commercial business strategy, loyalty program, network planning and revenue and sales departments.
Over the summer the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a partnership proposal between American and JetBlue in the northeast United States.
Meanwhile, American Airline officials added in a release Steve Johnson will return as the airline’s chief strategy officer.