Chairman of Airbus Americas, Inc.

Allan McArtor is Chairman of Airbus Americas, Inc., parent company of Airbus Americas Sales, Inc. and Airbus North America Customer Services, Inc., Airbus North America Engineering, Inc. located in Wichita, Kansas and Mobile, AL, and Airbus Alabama (formed for the KC-45 and A330F final assembly)..  Named Chairman in June 2001, McArtor oversees the activities and strategy of Airbus in the United States, Canada, and Latin America in several key areas, including governmental affairs and Airbus industrial strategy in the U.S., plus The Tanker Steering Committee.  Airbus functions in the Americas include aircraft design engineering, marketing and sales support for airlines and other customers, as well as product and technical support, and training for pilots, flight attendants and maintenance specialists.

Before joining Airbus, McArtor was founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Legend Airlines, a regional airline based at Dallas Love Field, Texas.  Prior to that, McArtor held a series of leadership and senior management positions in the military, civil and government sectors.

From 1979 to 1994, McArtor served on the senior management team of Federal Express Corporation - except for two years (1987-1989) when President Ronald Reagan appointed McArtor to serve as the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  As FAA Administrator, McArtor was credited with helping to regain public confidence in air transportation, while accelerating the modernization of air traffic control (ATC).  He was also increased FAA funding for ATC and other critical programs, including Extended Twin Operations (ETOPS) and Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS).  In addition, McArtor created the standards for current “Aging Aircraft” regulations and issued the industry’s Stage III noise regulations.

While at Federal Express, McArtor was head of all Air Operations including maintenance, operations, training, scheduling and planning for the carrier’s global airline.  This included the successful merger of the Flying Tigers air cargo airline into the Federal Express operations and the development of the long-range fleet plan, which first introduced Airbus A300-600R freighters.  Also at Federal Express, McArtor served as Senior Vice President for Telecommunications during the development of FedEx’s extensive satellite based digital network.

McArtor is a 1964 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy (BSE) and was the Cadet Wing Commander.  In addition, he holds a Masters Degree (MSE) from Arizona State University.

McArtor was a highly decorated combat fighter pilot in Vietnam, an Associate Professor of Engineering Mechanics at the Air Force Academy, and capped his Air Force career as a pilot with the U.S. Air Force “Thunderbirds” Aerial Demonstration Team.  McArtor continues to hold a Commercial Pilot’s License (instrument rating, multi-engine) and is a member of Tau Beta Pi (engineering honorary society).

McArtor serves on the Board of Directors of: The National Air & Space Museum (NASM); The European Institute; Washington Area Airports Authority; Aviation Safety Alliance; GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems; Committee for Economic Development; and The Wings Club (and former President).  Currently, McArtor serves on the boards of a number of civic, industry, charity and educational groups, including The Falcon Foundation, Sabre Society, Air Force Memorial Foundation Board of Trustees, the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital Professional Advisory Board and Camp Soaring Eagle (a camp for seriously ill kids) in Sedona, Arizona. In 2009 he was awarded the Air Traffic Control Association’s Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award for outstanding lifelong achievements by an individual in the field of aviation. 

Allan and Grace McArtor have two sons and five grandchildren.

Press Department
 February 2010