Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation (AWAC)has hired James P. Rankin as President and CEO. He is currently President and CEO of Skyway Airlines, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Midwest Air Group, Inc.
“We are extremely pleased to have someone of Jim’s caliber joining Air Wisconsin,” said Patrick J. Thompson, the company’s current CEO.
“Jim is a strong leader with great operational and business acumen. When we join Jim with our CFO, Christine Deister, and the other officers of Air Wisconsin, we believe we have a leadership team that can take Air Wisconsin to new heights.”
Rankin has been with Midwest Air Group since first joining Skyway as a pilot in 1990. Within a few years, he moved through the positions of Chief Pilot and Director of Operations at Skyway before moving to Midwest Express Airlines in 1995. In addition to his current position as President and CEO of Skyway, Rankin also holds the position of Senior Vice President and General Manager of Midwest Airlines Saver Service, Midwest’s lower fare leisure product.
Rankin said, “I am very excited about joining Air Wisconsin Airlines, a company with a rich and distinguished heritage, and I look forward to working with AWAC’s 2,300 plus employees to further position the company for growth in the highly-competitive airline industry.”
Rankin holds a bachelor’s degree from Carroll College as well as an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He will assume his new position August 1.
Rankin will succeed Thompson, who took over as interim CEO in April after AWAC’s long-time CEO, Geoffrey Crowley, left the position to head up an investment company owned by AWAC’s shareholders. Thompson will rejoin William Jordan as the company’s Vice Chairmen.
AWAC operates as US Airways Express scheduling nearly 500 departures per day to 70 cities in 27 states and two Canadian provinces. It has a fleet of 70 Canadair Regional Jets and is the largest privately held regional airline in the United States. Additional information about AWAC can be found at www.airwis.com.
