Industry veteran John Tague last month was tapped by United Airlines to assume the newly created position of executive vice president of customer. Reporting directly to CEO and chairman Glenn Tilton, Tague is responsible for sales, reservations, worldwide alliances, loyalty services, advertising and cargo.
Tague previously served as president and CEO of ATA Holdings Corp. and its principal subsidiary, American Trans Air, which now goes by ATA Airlines. Earlier in his career, Tague worked in marketing for Midway Airlines. Tague's focus on United's customer base, including a notable emphasis on corporate clients, is key to revitalizing the airline and bringing parent UAL Corp. out from bankruptcy protection
(see story, page 6). "John Tague truly understands the dynamics of this industry, its customer base and the unique challenges we all face," said Tilton in a statement. "As United focuses on revenue enhancement and the customer experience, John's breadth of knowledge will serve us well."
John Smith, president of Chicago-based Tower Travel Management, said Tague during his career "has distinguished himself from a marketing standpoint," experience that will come in handy as United pushes ahead with efforts to reconstruct brand loyalty. "From his days at Midway, he appeared quite creative and seemed to think outside the box," Smith said. "In large part, he also was behind the transformation at ATA, in expanding vacation business but also pursuing the corporate marketplace."
Under the reorganized UAL executive structure, which globalizes what had been disparate North American and international divisions, Graham Atkinson, formerly senior vice president of international, assumes the new post of senior vice president of worldwide sales and alliances. He reports to Tague.
In conjunction with the changes, United veteran Chris Bowers, most recently senior vice president of sales and reservations, announced his resignation from the company. Joe Laughlin, a 34-year United veteran most recently vice president of reservations, also resigned. "The highlight of my time was when I had the opportunity to lead the sales force," Laughlin said, referring to his stint as vice president of sales between 1999 and 2001. "It was during a time that we changed from a total focus on distribution selling to developing and building relationships with corporate customers."
According to UAL, ATA during Tague's tenure grew sales from $300 million to $1.4 billion. Now, Tague will work to stem the exodus of passengers from United to such lower-cost carriers as ATA, a primary player at Chicago Midway Airport and one of United's top competitors.