Nicholas Calio will retire from his position as chief executive of Airlines for America (A4A) at the end of this year, concluding a 14-year run of leading an industry advocacy organisation for US cargo and passenger carriers.
Washington, DC-headquartered A4A said on 15 January that United Airlines chief executive Scott Kirby and American Airlines CEO Robert Isom are directing the search for Calio’s successor, which is “to begin immediately”.
A “renowned Washington lobbyist”, Calio’s leadership through the tectonic shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic “helped save the industry from ruin”, A4A says. He worked with lawmakers and labour groups to secure billions of dollars in funding and payroll-relief packages as air traffic slowed to a trickle and airline revenues plunged.
The group also credits Calio as an influential voice in shaping several Federal Aviation Administration reauthorisation bills, and for overseeing an A4A re-brand that ”re-launched the association by working collaboratively with airlines, labour unions, Congress, the executive branch and key government agencies, as well as foreign governments to promote the safety, security and health” of US airlines.
Calio says that, since assuming leadership in 2011, he has worked with “some of the sharpest minds in business” on A4A’s board of directors, pointing to Kirby and Isom as well as retired airline executives Robin Hayes (JetBlue Airways), Gary Kelly (Southwest Airlines), Brad Tilden (Alaska Air Group) and Doug Parker (American Airlines Group).
“Together, we have accomplished so much for so many, and I have learned from their counsel and benefited from their enduring friendship,” Calio says. “I am thankful to have worked alongside such a dedicated and strategic board.”
Hayes says Calio helped transform A4A into the “most-influential” airline trade association in Washington, DC, while Parker adds that ”we became a much stronger, more-cohesive industry” during his tenure.
