Alaska Airlines’ Board of Directors has named aviation industry veteran Donald Wright as the airline’s new Vice President of Maintenance and Engineering. Wright will succeed Constance von Muehlen who was appointed Chief Operating Officer on April 3, 2021.
On Wednesday (August 11, 2021), Alaska Airlines announced that the company’s Board of Directors has elected aviation industry veteran Donald Wright as the airline’s new Vice President of Maintenance and Engineering, effective August 23, 2021. Mr. Wright will succeed Constance von Muehlen who was appointed Chief Operating Officer on April 3, 2021. In his new role, Wright will lead 1,346 employees, including the technical operations team, and will oversee the safety, compliance and operational performance of Alaska’s mainline Boeing and Airbus fleet. Donald Wright joins the company after recently retiring from United Airlines, where he served as Vice President of Maintenance Operations. At United, he was responsible for over 6,500 line maintenance employees at 45 stations, as well as global third-party vendors.
In Wednesday’s announcement, Alaska Airlines’ Chief Operating Officer, Constance von Muehlen, said,
“Don is a strong strategic leader with a proven track record of operational performance improvement and vast industry experience leading technical operations. As a forward thinker in process improvement and a fierce advocate for safety and compliance since his early days as a certificated aircraft technician, I am confident Don will support and lead the Maintenance & Engineering team to new heights.”
While at United Airlines, and previously Continental Airlines, Mr. Wright served in various leadership roles including Vice President of the Newark hub, where he was responsible for Newark, JFK and LaGuardia operations. He also served as Managing Director of Technical Operations at LAX, where he was responsible for aircraft line maintenance operations in the western U.S. and Asia-Pacific regions. Mr. Wright joined Continental in 1988 as an International Maintenance Representative in Sydney, Australia and eventually rose through the ranks to lead teams in the Asia/Pacific, Europe and Latin America. He launched his career with Qantas as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, the equivalent of an FAA-licensed A&P technician.
Donald Wright is also a trustee for Air Camp, which provides hands on opportunities for students to learn about STEM related fields, including aviation and aeronautics. He is the married father of two children and the family currently lives in the San Juan Islands in Washington.
Alaska Airlines and their regional partners serve over 120 destinations in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica and Belize (from November 2021). The sustainability-focused carrier emphasizes Next-Level Care for guests, while offering low fares and award-winning service. Alaska has hubs in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland and Anchorage. The carrier is a member of the oneworld global alliance, and along with their Global Partners, Alaska Airlines’ guests can earn and redeem miles on flights to more than 1,000 global destinations on over 20 airlines. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of the Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE: ALK).
Source: Alaska Airlines