Atlas Air chief Flynn retires, with Dietrich to take the helm in 2020 

President and Chief Executive Officer William Flynn at Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings will step back to chairman of the board at the end of this year, Atlas announced today. The current EVP and Chief Operating Officer at Atlas, John Dietrich, is set to take Flynn’s place as president effective immediately. He’ll also take over as CEO when Flynn retires.  

The current Chairman of the Board, Robert Agnev, will assume a role as the board’s lead independent director when Flynn takes his place. 

During Flynn’s 13-year tenure, the company saw impressive growth – especially in recent years. The company developed a significant partnership with Amazon as one of the primary operators of its growing fleet of 767 and now 737 freighters. 

“Key significant achievements [under Flynn] include the transformation of Polar Air Cargo with the DHL joint venture; investment in the 747-8F platform; acquisition of Southern Air, which added 777 and 737 operating capabilities to the suite of services; growth in relationships with express and e-commerce customers; expansions with long-term customers; and entry into passenger charter flying,” the company said in a statement today. “Additionally, the company launched and expanded its dry-leasing subsidiary, Titan, to become one of the leading freighter-centric leasing companies with potential for further growth,” Atlas said. 

More recently, in June, the company announced that it would begin flying a third 747 freighter for Asiana Cargo, and that it had secured a contract with DHL Express to begin operating some of the 777 freighters it has on order from Boeing. 

You can learn more about Atlas’ operations from 16-18 October at Cargo Facts Symposium in San Diego, where EVP and Chief Commercial Officer Michael Steen will join a panel discussion on the future of widebody freighters. For more information or to register, visit CargoFactsSymposium.com.