American Airlines announces retirement of Henry C. Joyner, Senior Vice President

FORT WORTH, Texas – American Airlines today announced the retirement of longtime senior executive Henry C. Joyner after nearly 30 years of contributions, leadership and service to the company.

FORT WORTH, Texas – American Airlines today announced the retirement of longtime senior executive Henry C. Joyner after nearly 30 years of contributions, leadership and service to the company.

Effective June 1, Joyner will retire from his position as American Airlines Senior Vice President – Planning. American also announced that Virasb Vahidi will return to the company to succeed Joyner. Vahidi’s appointment is also effective June 1.

“It is rare to find someone with Henry’s personal and professional attributes, and even rarer for a company to reap those benefits for nearly three decades,” said Gerard Arpey, Chairman and CEO of AMR Corp., parent company of American. “Henry’s immense contributions to our shareholders, customers and employees have better positioned our company to face its current challenges and achieve long-term success. We thank him for his service and wish him all the best during his well-deserved retirement from the company.”

Arpey added, “At the same time, we are fortunate to have someone of Virasb’s talent, knowledge and experience who is rejoining American’s senior leadership team and is uniquely qualified to make significant contributions. In the first phase of his career at American, Virasb was one of our company’s rising stars, having worked closely with many of the leaders that make up our management team today. He is a talented executive, with international experience in diverse leadership roles across multiple industries. More than that, he has a passion for and a proven track record in the global aviation business.”

Joyner joined American as a financial analyst in 1980, after earning an MBA from the University of Chicago. He joined the Marketing Department in 1982 and was involved in the development of the AAdvantage(R) marketing and frequent flyer program, the industry’s first.

He became Managing Director of Airline Planning in 1987 and was named Vice President of Personnel Resources in 1989. Joyner became Vice President of Marketing Planning in 1990 and was named Senior Vice President – Planning in 2000. In his current role, Joyner directs the company’s strategic planning activities including scheduling, revenue management, corporate real estate, fleet planning, airline alliances, and international regulatory affairs.

“It has been a privilege to be a part of the American team as it has navigated the challenges of the airline business over the last 30 years,” Joyner said. “Contributing to the network and fleet planning that has positioned American to be a successful global airline has been professionally rewarding. But, it has been the opportunity to work alongside some of the most talented and committed people in the industry that has made American a very special place for me and my family. I have been and always will be proud to say I worked for American Airlines.”

Vahidi, who will assume all of the airline’s planning responsibilities, in addition to Airline Profitability & Financial Analysis, joined American in 1994 in Airline Planning and served in a number of roles of increasing responsibilities in Revenue Management. He was named Managing Director of International Planning in 1998 and later served as Managing Director of Airline Profitability & Financial Analysis from 2000 to 2002.

During his more than eight years at American, Vahidi led the team that was responsible for the profitability of American’s global network, negotiated alliances with international airline partners, led pricing and yield management of American’s Latin America network, and developed and implemented new domestic pricing products.

Vahidi joined AT&T in 2002 as Vice President of Corporate Planning and Investor Relations and later became Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Development, a position he held until 2006. At AT&T, his responsibilities included global mergers and divestitures, strategic business and technology initiatives, the AT&T venture capital fund, financial and capital planning, and investor relations. He also played a key role in the AT&T/SBC Communications merger and was the co-leader of the integration team.

In his most recent position, Vahidi served as Chief Operating Officer and member of the Board of Directors of Phorm, a technology company. During his tenure, he led successful fundraisings, negotiated and executed agreements with global business partners, led the development of a long-term business and financial plan, and recruited a strong management team.

Vahidi earned an MBA in 1994 at Paris’ Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California-San Diego in 1988.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

Share to...