United Airlines Ltd (UAL) has named Pete McDonald chief administrative officer and John Tague chief operating officer. The group said the two appointments were strategic in nature and will enable a streamlining of the organisation and enable the company to accelerate improvement in both revenue and cost performance.
McDonald, who has held numerous senior leadership roles at UAL in his 39-year career, most recently as chief operating officer, will be responsible for corporate policy and strategy regarding customer and employee experience, technology, communications, safety and security, and maintaining key internal and external relationships in the foregoing areas.
In this new position, McDonald will leverage his strong support of employees and respect of labour leaders and his knowledge of the business. Graham Atkinson, chief customer officer, will continue to spearhead UAL’s customer experience work and will report to McDonald.
Tague will take on the role of chief operating officer, responsible for airport operations; cargo; maintenance; operational services, Ted and United Express; flight operations; onboard service; marketing; Mileage Plus; united.com; call centres; sales; alliances, international and regulatory aff airs; and planning, including scheduling and revenue management activities.
Tague brings considerable operational experience to this new role, having held several leadership roles in the industry before joining UAL five years ago. Most recently, Tague served as chief revenue officer.