January 08, 2013 - 09:30 AM ET

Virgin Atlantic selected American Airlines veteran Craig Kreeger to serve as chief executive, effective Feb. 1. "We believe Craig has the experience and passion to drive Virgin Atlantic forward and capitalize on the opportunities created by our new venture with Delta Air Lines," according to a statement from Virgin founder Richard Branson. Kreeger, who will replace Steve Ridgway, worked for AA for 27 years in a variety of management roles—mostly recently senior vice president of customer experience—and had been involved in developing AA's joint ventures with British Airways, Iberia and Japan Airlines. Ridgway has led Virgin Atlantic since 2001. AA, meanwhile, named vice president Jonathan Snook as Kreeger's replacement, responsible for "managing all aspects of the customer experience—from reservations and airport operations to inflight service and baggage handling."