American Airlines’ chief commercial officer, Vasu Raja, will leave the airline in June, the airline announced Tuesday.
News of Raja’s departure comes a week after the airline denied he was planning to leave the company amid rumors he was not in American’s offices and that he had been ousted by a board unhappy with the airline’s revenue strategy.
In a statement Airline Observer An American Airlines spokesman said in a newsletter last week that Raja would work remotely “for a few weeks while he deals with personal matters” but “will not be leaving the company.”
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The airline did not elaborate on why Raja was leaving or what had changed since last week, and it was not clear if the departure had been planned since last week.
American Airlines also lowered its second-quarter outlook in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, saying it now expects revenue to fall as much as 6 percent from a year ago. The airline had previously forecast a decline of as much as 3 percent compared to the same period a year ago.
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The airline has struggled in recent months to translate its new distribution strategies into profitable growth, lagging behind larger rivals Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. The airline recently introduced new policies aimed at encouraging customers to book flights directly with it or its preferred vendors, rather than going through a variety of third-party booking platforms and channels.
During the airline’s first-quarter earnings call in April, CEO Robert Isom said the airline was still “fine-tuning” its strategy and that in the first three months of the year “it’s likely that our competitors have seen some benefit from some of the changes we’ve made.”
Isom is scheduled to speak at the Bernstein investor conference on Wednesday along with United Airlines executives.
United Airlines on Tuesday reaffirmed its previous guidance for the quarter, predicting earnings per share of $3.75 to $4.25.
It was not immediately clear what his departure means for consumers, though he was the architect of the airline’s new distribution strategy. Either way, industry observers will be closely watching American’s shift in direction.