PSA Announces Appointment of Chris McCartney as Airline’s First-Ever Chief Operating Officer

PSA has announced that amid continued growth, they have appointed Chris McCartney as the carrier’s first-ever Chief Operating Officer (COO).  Mr. McCartney Joins PSA from Allegiant Travel Company, where he served as SVP of Maintenance and Engineering.

PSA Airlines' First-Ever Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chris McCartney

On Wednesday (August 20, 2025), PSA Airlines announced that amid continued growth, they have named Chris McCartney as the carrier’s first-ever Chief Operating Officer (COO). Mr. McCartney joins PSA from Allegiant Travel Company, where he served for six years as EVP – Maintenance and Engineering.  In his new role as COO, Chris McCartney will report directly to PSA’s President and CEO, Dion Flannery.  McCartney will be responsible for leading the safe and reliable operations of the airline, including Flight and Inflight Operations, Crew Scheduling and Dispatch, as well as Maintenance Technical Services & Operations.

In Wednesday’s announcement, PSA Airlines’ President and CEO, Chris McCartney, said,

“Our airline has grown substantially over the past decade.  We’ve added several new crew and maintenance bases, as well as hubs of operation; introduced trans-border flying into Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean; tripled the number of aircraft we operate; and steadily increased our number of daily departures.

“Given this growth trajectory and with our headquarters relocation to Charlotte, North Carolina, we determined the need for a ‘C-level’ leader dedicated to operations.  Chris McCartney’s airline leadership experience, deep understanding of regional aviation, and expertise reliability-centered maintenance and engineering make him a perfect fit for this strategic role.  I’m confident he will help PSA deliver unprecedented great performance and further solidify our foundation for growth.” 

Prior to his role at Allegiant Travel, Chris McCartney served in a variety of maintenance and engineering roles at Republic Airways, starting as an Aircraft Maintenance Technician (AMT), before being promoted to several maintenance and engineering management roles.  These roles included Manager of Engineering, Manager of Engineering Propulsion, Manager of Maintenance and Director of Maintenance, a position he held for over eight years.

Mr. McCartney attended Vincennes University and later Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, where he received an associate’s degree in airline management. He holds an A&P Certificate, a private pilot’s certificate, and is an aircraft owner-operator. 

PSA Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines Group, operates an all-jet fleet of dual-class Mitsubishi Heavy Industry (MHI) regional jet aircraft. (formerly known as Bombardier Canadair Regional Jets or CRJs).  The company’s 5,000+ team members operate an average of over 750 daily flights to more than 100 destinations. PSA has flight crew bases in Charlotte, NC, Dallas-Fort Worth, Dayton, Ohio, Philadelphia. and Washington, DC.  The airline has maintenance facilities in Dayton, Canton/Akron and Cincinnati, Charlotte, Dallas-Fort Worth, Greenville, SC, Knoxville, TN, Norfolk, VA, Pensacola, FL, and Savannah, GA.  PSA’s fleet includes 60 MHI CRJ700 aircraft and 82 MHI CRJ900 aircraft, and the company has recently announced the acquisition of additional CRJ900 aircraft, which will increase PSA’s fleet to 154 aircraft.

Source: PSA Airlines