UAL Corporation, the airline holding company, announced on Wednesday that they have named Howard Attarian as the Vice President for Flight Operations. Attarian’s role will be having the responsibility over the every day operations in the Flight Operations Division of United Airlines, including flight technical, flight standards, and pilot domiciles. Joe Kolshad, the Senior Vice President of Operations at United Airlines, said that Captain Attarian will bring more than 30 years of experience in the aviation industry to the airline, including his many years in leadership positions for Air Line Pilots Association, which makes him very suited for leading their 6,600 professional aviators. His prior experience is going to be an asset for the airline, he continued, as they continue building their competitive role in the economic environment.

Howard Attarian is joining United Airlines following his 23 year piloting career with Northwest Airlines. Throughout his career with the airline, Attarian served in many roles with the union, where he was in a major leadership position in contract negotiations. More recently, he served as an executive administrator for 8 years to the president for the Air Line Pilots Association International, which is where he led numerous projects for merging the 6 pilot groups of the union together, while serving as a main adviser for collective bargaining negotiations among many airlines, including United Airlines, US Airways, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, and Alaska Airlines.

Furthermore, Howard is a retired commissioned aviator and officer, as well as being highly decorated, for the United States Air Force. He is also a former pilot for the renowned United States Air Force Demonstration Squadron, known as the Thunderbirds. He will begin his position on the 1st of September, reporting to Kolshak, while being based at the operations center for the airline in suburban Chicago.

Visit www.united.com for more information.