Vasu Raja is an American airline executive who was most recently chief commercial officer at American Airlines.
Raja attended the University of Texas at Austin and earned a bachelors in the humanities. [1]
Vasu started his career with Teach for America in 1999 and taught in Baltimore City Schools for three years. [1]
He joined American Airlines in 2004 starting his career in sales, planning, and revenue management. [1] He eventually became chief revenue officer. [1] In 2019, he was promoted to senior vice president of network strategy, overseeing network and alliances. [2] He was the first Indian American to serve in the airline's c-suite.
In 2022, Raja was promoted to chief commercial officer along with the start of incoming CEO Robert Isom's term. [3]
His total compensation in 2023 was over $12 million. [4] At the end of the year, it was reported that he held 339,170 shares of American stock valued at $4,148,049. [5] In May 2023, he tasked with leading the search for a new Oneworld alliance CEO after Rob Gurney's departure. [6]
As chief commercial officer, Raja was the driving force behind American Airlines' decision to discontinue first class and pivot to a low-cost carrier model. [7] He was also the architect of American's "Northeast Partnership" with JetBlue which was dissolved by judicial order in 2023. [8]
In May 2024, American Airlines announced that Raja would stand down as chief commercial officer the following month as it cut its profit guidance ahead of the summer 2024 travel season. [9] [10]
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Vasu Raja is an American airline executive who was most recently chief commercial officer at American Airlines.
Raja attended the University of Texas at Austin and earned a bachelors in the humanities. [1]
Vasu started his career with Teach for America in 1999 and taught in Baltimore City Schools for three years. [1]
He joined American Airlines in 2004 starting his career in sales, planning, and revenue management. [1] He eventually became chief revenue officer. [1] In 2019, he was promoted to senior vice president of network strategy, overseeing network and alliances. [2] He was the first Indian American to serve in the airline's c-suite.
In 2022, Raja was promoted to chief commercial officer along with the start of incoming CEO Robert Isom's term. [3]
His total compensation in 2023 was over $12 million. [4] At the end of the year, it was reported that he held 339,170 shares of American stock valued at $4,148,049. [5] In May 2023, he tasked with leading the search for a new Oneworld alliance CEO after Rob Gurney's departure. [6]
As chief commercial officer, Raja was the driving force behind American Airlines' decision to discontinue first class and pivot to a low-cost carrier model. [7] He was also the architect of American's "Northeast Partnership" with JetBlue which was dissolved by judicial order in 2023. [8]
In May 2024, American Airlines announced that Raja would stand down as chief commercial officer the following month as it cut its profit guidance ahead of the summer 2024 travel season. [9] [10]
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cite web}}
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help)