There is a leadership change coming to American Airlines, but it is unlikely that much will change.
Robert Isom will replace Doug Parker.
American Airlines president Robert Isom will be taking over as CEO from Doug Parker on March 31, 2022. Isom will be joining the board of directors, while Parker will continue to serve as chairman of the board. The airline has been preparing for this transition for a long time, and if it weren't for the Pandemic, it would have happened sooner.
Isom has been in the airline industry for 25 years. He worked at both US Airways and America West. The plans for the leadership change were leaked early in the year, so it is not surprising to see this happen, and it is also not surprising to see Isom appointed to replace Parker.
There is a video message with the announcement of American's leadership succession plan.
The legacy at American Airlines was started by Doug Parker.
He has had an amazing career, to be honest. He has been CEO of a major US airline for over two decades now, and he was in charge at America West, then remained CEO when the airline merged with US Airways, and then remained CEO when the airline merged with American Airlines. He has had a great run.
Similarly, Parker has always been a nice guy. He seems to be one of the most genuine airline CEOs out there.
I have not been a fan of the direction he has taken the airline. He didn't seem to have a vision for the airline, other than to turn it into a high cost version of Spirit Airlines While United is trying to become premium, American continues to try to become cheaper.
I think I have covered it for the past several years, so I will not go into more detail in this post.
The headquarters of American Airlines is near DFW.
At American Airlines, little will change.
I think it is time for a leadership change at American Airlines. I don't think a lot will change here, so I wouldn't get too excited. American almost always promotes from within. It is important to get fresh ideas, and reward people for their loyalty, but there is a limit to that.
I can't think of another airline that has as many executives that have been with the company for more than 20 years. I think that is one of the reasons that American Airlines is so lackluster, because they convince themselves that people don't like personal TVs and turkey pastrami sandwiches.
I don't expect Isom to do anything radical, as he has always seemed to be on the same page as Parker. Scott Kirby surprised us when he moved to United.
American Airlines has a first class sandwich.
The bottom line.
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker will step down in March of 2022, and Robert Isom will take his place. It shouldn't come as a surprise that this transition was in the works for a long time.
It was a long time since he was the CEO of an airline, so he was well-wishers on that. It is sad that we shouldn't expect a lot to change.
What do you think about Doug Parker retiring as CEO of American and being replaced by Robert Isom?
