SEATTLE, March 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Alaska
Airlines' board of directors has elected Wayne Newton as vice president of airport
operations and customer service effective today. In his new role,
Newton will oversee airport operations in 84 cities and a team of
more than 2,700 employees and contractors. He replaces Jeff Butler, who is now Alaska Airlines' vice
president of guest and inflight services - Virgin America.
"Wayne knows this business inside and out and is perfectly
suited to lead one of our largest work groups," said Ben Minicucci, president and COO of Alaska
Airlines. "In addition to his proven history of operational
excellence, Wayne is deeply respected by his team at every level of
the organization."
Newton joined Alaska Airlines in 1988 as a ramp service agent,
and worked his way up in the ranks over nearly three decades,
primarily in the area of airport operations. For the past two
years, he served as managing director of airport operations in
Seattle. Newton was honored last
year with the High Performance Leadership Award for his efforts to
improve Seattle's performance in
safety, on-time performance, customer service, productivity and
baggage. Since joining the company, he has held various positions
of increasing responsibility, including managing director of system
operations control.
Newton earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the
University of Washington and holds a
private pilot's license. Connect with him on LinkedIn at
https://www.linkedin.com/in/wayne-newton-73341b2b/.
Alaska Airlines, together with Virgin America and its regional
partners, flies 40 million customers a year to 118 destinations
with an average of 1,200 daily flights across the United States and to Mexico, Canada, Costa
Rica and Cuba. With
Alaska and Alaska Global Partners,
customers can earn and redeem miles on flights to more than 900
destinations worldwide. Learn more about Alaska's award-winning service and unmatched
reliability at newsroom.alaskaair.com and blog.alaskaair.com.
Alaska Airlines, Virgin America and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of
Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK).
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SOURCE Alaska Airlines