Elieson appointed to lead American Airlines Cargo and International Airport Operations

American Airlines announced this week that Rick Elieson, President of Cargo, has been named as President Cargo and Vice President International Operations. In this expanded role, Elieson will continue to lead the Cargo division and assumes the leadership of American’s international airport operations in 60 countries. He takes over International Operations from Jim Butler, who was recently named as Senior Vice President – Airport Operations and Cargo.

All airline operations were reorganized under Butler last fall to enable teams to better deliver on reliability, consistency, and safety across the whole organization. Elieson is one of eight officers on Butler’s team with a shared goal of building the most reliable operations in the business to consistently deliver best-in-class service for our customers.
“Running a reliable operation is one of the best things we can do to provide value for our customers. With eighty percent of our cargo business in international markets, it is critical that the Cargo and International divisions are closely aligned to ensure world-class service for our customers," said Butler. “Rick has a track record of building collaborative and empowered teams and I am delighted to have him continue this work leading both divisions as President Cargo and Vice President International Airport Operations.”
“The culture of an organization has a direct impact on the service we deliver and this starts with teams who work and win together. I’m honored to lead this work for our Cargo and International Airport Operations to deliver incredible service for our customers and to create a place where team members are proud to work,” said Elieson.
This new alignment is already producing results. American reported its best-ever operational metrics for both the 2019 holiday peak period and the entire fourth quarter of 2019, and this momentum has continued into 2020 with record-breaking operational results in January.