American Airlines Announces Air Operations Leadership Appointments

FORT WORTH, Texas, May 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- American Airlines Group Inc. announced the appointment of two Air Operations officers to its leadership team.

Kimball Stone – Vice President, Flight

Kimball Stone has been named Vice President – Flight where he will lead the airline's team of more than 15,000 professional aviators.  Stone most recently served as Vice President – Integrated Operations Control. During his 26 years at American, Stone has held numerous roles within the Flight, Maintenance and Dispatch organizations. He holds flight ratings on the F100, DC10, MD80, A300 and Boeing 727, 737, 757 and 767 aircraft types and is currently type rated on the Boeing 777.

Prior to joining American Airlines, he served in the U.S. Army with assignments to the United States Special Operations Command, United States Central Command as well as the 1st Armored Division.

Captain Stone assumes this new position from Captain John Hale, who announced earlier this spring his plans to go back to flying full time for American.

Lorne Cass – Vice President, Integrated Operations Control

Lorne Cass joins American Airlines as Vice President – Integrated Operations Control.  With more than 35 years of industry experience, Cass most recently served as the Director of Airport Surface Efficiency within the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Air Traffic Organization.

Cass has extensive experience in Airline Operations Control, Air Traffic Management, Emergency Response and Business Continuity. He began his airline career as a Customer Service Agent for Western Airlines and later worked for several years leading dispatch, meteorology, air traffic control and emergency response functions for Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines. He received his pilot's license and ratings from the University of Albuquerque and studied Airline Management at the University of Alaska. In addition to his pilot ratings, he holds FAA certification as an Aircraft Dispatcher and Air Traffic Control Specialist.

"Kimball and Lorne bring unique perspectives, experiences and skills to these critical areas," said Robert Isom, American's Chief Operating Officer. "They are well respected by their colleagues and across the industry and we are fortunate to have them on our team as we continue on our integration path to become the greatest airline in the world."

Stone and Cass will report directly to Tim Campbell, Senior Vice President – Air Operations.

American Airlines and US Airways merged in December 2013 to become the world's largest airline. Since merging, the airline has been making steady integration progress, including inducting US Airways into the oneworld alliance, merging separate frequent flyer programs into the single AAdvantage program and receiving a single operating certificate from the FAA.

About American Airlines

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ: AAL) is the holding company for American Airlines and US Airways. Together with regional partners, operating as American Eagle and US Airways Express, the airlines operate an average of nearly 6,700 flights per day to nearly 350 destinations in more than 50 countries. American is a founding member of the oneworld alliance, whose members and members-elect serve nearly 1,000 destinations with 14,250 daily flights to 150 countries. This year American topped Fortune Magazine's list of best business turnarounds and its stock joined the S&P 500 index. Connect with American on Twitter @AmericanAir and at Facebook.com/AmericanAirlines.

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SOURCE American Airlines