Charlotte, N.C. – PSA Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines Group and leading regional airline, today announced that Chris McCartney has joined the company as Chief Operating Officer (COO).
McCartney, who comes to PSA from Allegiant Travel Company – where he was Senior Vice President of Maintenance and Engineering – will report to PSA’s president and CEO Dion Flannery. He is the company’s first-ever COO and will lead and be responsible for the safe and reliable operation of many critical aspects of the airline, including Flight and Inflight Operations; Crew Scheduling and Dispatch; and both Technical Services and Technical Operations within Maintenance.
McCartney’s appointment comes as PSA continues to grow its fleet, network footprint and base operations.
“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,” said Flannery. “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 in 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.”
McCartney joins PSA from Allegiant, where for the last six-plus years he was the head of maintenance and engineering. Prior to Allegiant, McCartney served in a variety of reliability-centered maintenance and engineering roles with increasing responsibility for Republic Airways. He began his career at Republic on the front line as an Aircraft Maintenance Technician before ascending to several maintenance and engineering management roles, including Manager of Engineering, Manager of Engineering Propulsion, Manager of Maintenance and Director of Maintenance, a role he held for over eight years.
With his deep understanding of maintenance, engineering and overall airline operations – including extensive knowledge of the regional airline industry – McCartney is recognized for his expertise in fleet and budget management, cost reduction, and continuous improvement. He has successfully implemented reliability-centered maintenance programs and integrated Lean Kaizen principles, resulting in enhanced operational efficiency and significant cost savings. His leadership is marked by a data-driven approach to decision-making, a commitment to upholding the highest safety standards, and a focus on fostering collaborative team cultures.
McCartney holds an A&P certificate, a private pilot’s certificate, and is an aircraft owner-operator.
