American Airlines Group Inc. American Airlines Group Inc. $AAL: $18.23(1.90%), on Tuesday, announced that Doug Parker, who took over as the Chief Executive Officer in 2013, will step down on March 31, 2022. He will hand over the reins to Robert Isom, who is currently the president of the airlines.

Isom will also become a part of the airline’s board of directors on that same date, while Parker will remain the chairman of the American’s board.

“I have worked with Robert for two decades, and I am incredibly pleased that he will be the next CEO of American Airlines, which is truly the best job in our industry,” Parker said. “Robert is a collaborative leader with deep operational expertise and global industry experience. I feel extremely fortunate to hand the reins to this clear and capable leader.”

Parker was the Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of America West Airlines when it merged with US Airways in 2005. He became America West’s CEO just ten days before September 11, 2001, and led the airline through the catastrophe.

“It has been the privilege of my life to serve for 20 years as an airline CEO,” Parker said. “I am forever grateful to the American team, whose commitment to taking care of each other and our customers has never wavered and will continue to drive our success going forward.”

Isom has over 30 years of experience across finance, operations, planning, marketing, sales, alliances, pricing and revenue management. He was named the president in 2016.

As CEO, Isom has to find solutions for many challenges beyond the pandemic, including reducing $36.1 billion in the airline’s long-term debt, the most among major U.S. carriers, and creating a dialogue with pilots and flight attendants over scheduling problems.

American, just like other airlines globally, was hit-hard by pandemic-related lockdowns in 2020, and the latest, it is grappling with staffing issues and passenger behaviour as business picked up.

“I am humbled to serve as CEO of American Airlines,” said Isom. “Over the past several years, our airline and our industry have gone through a period of transformative change. And with change comes opportunity. Today, our more than 130,000 dedicated team members fly more people than any other U.S. airline on the youngest fleet of all the network carriers, and we are positioned to continue to lead the industry as travel rebounds.”

American Airlines
On the dashboard of Quantale, the impact of the announcement on the social engagement for the stock of American Airlines amongst the users of Twitter and Reddit will be printed as the day proceeds.

On Monday, its stock activity rose 645%, combined with an increase of 27.84% of the trading volume.

A total of 74.01 million shares of the stock exchanged hands on Monday, 39.61 million above the average of 34.40 million.

Today, the shares of American Airlines opened at $18.32 apiece, up 2.17% from the previous day’s close of $17.93 apiece.

“American Airlines’ succession announcement appears to be orderly and well-telegraphed,” Stephen Trent, an analyst at Citigroup Inc., said in a note to investors. “With both individuals joining the board, this could help ensure open communication and an alignment of strategic interests.”