SEATTLE, Aug. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Alaska
Airlines' board of directors elected aviation veteran Donald Wright vice president of maintenance and
engineering, effective Aug. 23, 2021.
Wright will assume the role formerly held by Constance von Muehlen who was appointed Chief
Operating Officer on April 3. In his
new role, Wright will lead 1,346 employees, including the technical
operations team, and oversee the safety, compliance and operational
performance of the airline's mainline Boeing and Airbus fleet.
Wright is joining the company after recently retiring from
United Airlines, where he served as vice president of maintenance
operations, responsible for more than 6,500 line maintenance
employees at 45 stations as well as third-party aircraft
maintenance vendors globally.
"Don is a strong strategic leader with a proven track
record of operational performance improvement and vast industry
experience leading technical operations," said von Muehlen. "As a
forward thinker in process improvement and a fierce advocate
for safety and compliance since his early days as a
certificated aircraft technician, I am confident Don will support
and lead the Maintenance & Engineering team to new
heights."
While at United, and previously Continental Airlines, Wright
held various leadership roles, including vice president of the
Newark hub, where he was
responsible for Newark, JFK and
LaGuardia operations. He was also managing director of technical
operations in LAX, accountable for aircraft line maintenance
operations in the western United
States and the Asia/Pacific
regions.
Wright first joined Continental Airlines in 1988 as an
international maintenance representative in Sydney, Australia, and quickly rose through
the ranks to lead teams around the world including Asia/Pacific, Europe and Latin America.
Wright launched his career with Qantas Airways as an aircraft
maintenance engineer, the Australian equivalent to an FAA-licensed
aircraft technician and holds an FAA airframe and powerplant
certificate.
Wright is a current trustee for Air Camp, which provides
students hands-on opportunities to learn about STEM-related fields,
including aviation and aeronautics. He and his wife Joanne
have two children and currently live in the San Juan Islands in
Washington.
About Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines and its regional partners serve more than 120
destinations across the United States and to Mexico, Canada and Costa
Rica. The airline emphasizes Next-Level Care for its guests,
along with providing low fares, award-winning customer service and
sustainability efforts. Alaska is
a member of oneworld. With the global alliance and the
airline's additional partners, guests can travel to more than 1,000
destinations on more than 20 airlines while earning and redeeming
miles on flights to locations around the world. Learn more about
our climate impact goals at blog.alaskaair.com. Learn
more about Alaska Airlines at newsroom.alaskaair.com and
blog.alaskaair.com. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are
subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK).
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SOURCE Alaska Airlines
