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Former USAirways CEO Siegel Now XOJet CEO

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Former USAirways CEO Siegel Now XOJet CEO

Old 10-06-2008, 05:16 AM
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Default Former USAirways CEO Siegel Now XOJet CEO

Just found this on another forum. Any thoughts?


Former US Airways chief Siegel named XOJet CEO

Mon Oct 6, 2008 12:50am EDT Oct 6 (Reuters) -

XOJet Inc, a private aviation company backed by buyout firm TPG Inc, on Monday named former US Airways Group Inc (LCC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) head David Siegel as its chief executive.

Siegel, who was US Airways' CEO from 2002 to 2004, will take over from Paul Touw, the company's founder, who will become executive chairman, the company said in a statement. In May, the San Carlos, California-based company said it had arranged $2.5 billion of financing to expand its fleet and better compete with rivals such as NetJets Inc, owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
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Old 10-06-2008, 06:40 AM
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Pilotbum - What’s your opinion on this? You can fire me a PM if you don’t want to state it publicly.
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Old 10-06-2008, 06:53 AM
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Man, My first impression is not a good one. A former 2 year tenure is not a good sign IMO,..... and...2.4 billion is alot of money to lose...Im going to hope for the best on this one.......
Mr Touw does know what he's doing! Doesn't he?
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Old 10-06-2008, 07:03 AM
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He's got a lot of aviation/airline experience and an Ivy pedigree. That's a positive. But, he also has a failed airline in his background and a chummy relationship with Scheringa (ex FLOPS CEO and former co-worker at USAirways) - that's a big negative. Time will tell I guess.

Let's hope he doesn't tighten the labor screws like he did at USAirways.
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Old 10-06-2008, 08:44 AM
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Be VERY skeptical about ANYTHING he tells you XOJeters. Before US Airways he was CEO of Continental Express. During the 97 contract he said that around $50/hr for a 5 yr RJ captain was impossible and that we'd go out of business. Then a few years later when he was at USAir, all he did was Cut jobs, park dozens and dozens of mainline planes, take the company into bk, take 3 rounds of concessions from the pilots and kill their pension, then turned around and placed orders for a tons of rj's (that whole jets for jobs crap), all in two years time. He destroyed many many lives, and in the end after all that, you know what he walked away with? They gave this bastard $3 million in severance. Three weeks later the CFO (I can't remember his name) quit and he got $2 million. That's $5 mil these two scumbags walked away with in less than a month from a company that they completely left in shambles. This guy is nothing but a weasel, so watch out.
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Old 10-06-2008, 09:16 AM
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From the website:

San Carlos, CA – October 6, 2008 - Aviation industry veteran David N. Siegel, the former CEO of Gate Gourmet Group Inc. and US Airways Group, Inc., has been named president and CEO of XOJET, one of the world's fastest growing private aviation companies. Mr. Siegel has been a member of XOJET's board of directors since 2007. Having successfully led the company since its inception two years ago, Paul Touw, the company's founder and chief architect, will take on the role of executive chairman, strengthening the leadership team as the company enters an exciting new phase of growth.
"We are enormously excited to have Dave Siegel join our team as chief executive," Mr. Touw said. "As a member of the XOJET board, Dave and I have become close friends and I have grown to admire the leadership skills that have made him one of the aviation industry's most well-respected executives. He is a world class CEO with a wealth of experience managing companies, from start-ups to multi-billion dollar commercial airlines to global transportation enterprises. We are both humbled and excited by his decision to join XOJET as we build on our significant accomplishments and look toward the great future ahead of us as we continue to change the way people fly private."
"XOJET is at a unique inflection point in its short, but stunningly successful history," said Mr. Siegel. "The company is poised for dynamic growth in a market segment demanding air travel experiences distinguished by superior customer service and outstanding operations. I am excited to join Paul Touw and the rest of the team to execute on a strategic plan destined to secure XOJET's future as the nation's premier private aviation company."
"Through our unique hybrid business model that combines private jet ownership, leasing and on-demand travel with a singular focus on providing outstanding customer service, XOJET has emerged as an industry leader in each of these categories," continued Mr. Touw. "More importantly, XOJET has set a new standard for what private jet travel should be – an experience that is personal, seamless and stress-free."
"Having recently secured $2.46 billion in financing, the company is now well-poised to execute our expansion strategy and capitalize on the rapidly growing demand for private jet travel," he added.
Mr. Siegel, age 46, was named chairman and chief executive officer of Gate Gourmet Group Inc., the world's largest independent airline catering and logistics provider, in 2004. Under his leadership, the company underwent an operational and financial restructuring that tripled enterprise value. He also oversaw a strategic growth plan to build a best-in-class portfolio of in-flight products and services through acquisitions and investments resulting in the 2008 formation of gategroup, the umbrella brand for 11 aviation services companies. Prior to Gate Gourmet, he was president, chief executive and a member of the board of US Airways Group, Inc. and US Airways, Inc., the airline operating unit. Before that, he was chairman and CEO of Avis Rent A Car System, Inc.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Siegel served in various senior management roles at Continental Airlines and Continental Express. As CEO of Continental Express, he negotiated the largest aircraft order in regional airline industry history for 275 jets as the launch customer for the Embraer 145/135 regional jet program – part of Continental Express' ambition growth plan that produced five-fold revenue growth from approximately $200 million to more than $1 billion within only a few years. He also previously served as director of corporate planning at Northwest Airlines. A magna cum laude graduate of Brown University, he earned a master's degree in business administration from Harvard Business School.
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Old 10-06-2008, 09:34 AM
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I really don't have an opinion of the guy. I worked for US Airways Express during his tenure. He was NOT a popular guy, lots of bashing, some interesting moves he made, and so on. But US Airways is not a good example for judging someone...... Seriously, can anyone fix US Airways??? Even the best airline-CEO of our generation, Mr. Gordon Bethune couldn't clean up that mess......I don't know how Siegel is going to do at XOJET. Time will tell
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Old 10-06-2008, 10:55 AM
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He was on my flight to Bahamas a few years back...his fat ass sat in first class while his wife and kids sat next to me....
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Old 10-06-2008, 11:13 AM
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Might be time for a Union.
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Old 10-06-2008, 12:29 PM
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Originally Posted by Zayghami View Post
He was on my flight to Bahamas a few years back...his fat ass sat in first class while his wife and kids sat next to me....
Wow, gutsy move...I wonder if the airline management folks are making the move to the fractional side like so many pilots. Of course, that may not be a good thing for the sector given some of their track records with 121 companies.
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