INDIANAPOLIS, March 15, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- ATA Airlines announced today that it has appointed Josef Loew to the position of Senior Vice President - Scheduled Service. This appointment completes a leadership structure realignment that was initiated in January in order to drive accountability down to each of ATA's two lines of business - Military/Charter and Scheduled Service. Loew will report directly to the COO and will have responsibility for the Company's Marketing and Market Planning functions as well as Inflight, Reservations, Station Operations, Cargo, and Corporate Communications.
"During a more than 14-year career, Loew has distinguished himself as a leader in new product development, revenue generation and change management," said John Denison, Chairman, CEO, and President. "As the newest member of our talented Senior Leadership Team, he will apply his abilities toward refining ATA's business strategy to reach maximum profitability."
Loew comes to ATA from SITA INC Canada Inc., a leading provider of IT business solutions and communications services to the air transport community. As Head of Product, Loew drove the development and marketing strategy for the company's highly successful Airline Pricing and Fares Management business unit. Loew joined SITA upon its acquisition of SMG Technologies, where as Partner and Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development he oversaw worldwide marketing for SMG's airline pricing systems and consulting services.
Loew has fulfilled key positions involving carriers in the United States and Canada, including as Vice President for Revenue Management at America West Airlines. His roles have included the areas of Revenue Management, Pricing, Corporate Strategy, Scheduling and Distribution, Marketing, and Finance. After more than ten years sharpening his skills in these areas, Loew applied his talents at priceline.com where he played a pivotal role in developing the company's entry strategy that launched its European Air Travel Product.
Loew joins ATA effective immediately. He holds a bachelor of science in Applied Physics from Fachhochschule in Munich, Germany and a master of business administration in finance from the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada.
As ATA enters its 33rd year of operations, the Company is bringing more convenient, value-based service to the skies. ATA provides features travelers have come to expect, including advanced seat assignments, self-service kiosks and Web check-in. The carrier offers affordable travel to destinations such as New York, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Hawaii and Mexico. Through direct ATA service and connecting Southwest Airlines codeshare flights, ATA now serves customers in more than 60 markets. For more information, visit ata.com.