A new CEO has just been appointed to lead Airbus Americas, and it’s… a puzzling choice?
Robin Hayes appointed Airbus Americas CEO
Airbus has announced that as of June 3, 2024, Jeffrey Knittel is retiring as CEO of Airbus Americas, and will be replaced by Robin Hayes, the former CEO of JetBlue. Hayes has been in the industry for 35 years, most recently having spent 19 years at JetBlue, where he served as CEO for nine years.
In his new role, Hayes will lead the commercial aircraft business at Airbus Americas, and will have the responsibility for coordination among the company’s helicopters, space, and defense businesses in North America. Airbus has over 10,000 employees in the region, across 50 sites.
Here’s what Hayes had to say about his new position at Airbus:
“After some time off, I am excited and energised to join Airbus and build on the incredible success in the region. I have known Jeff and the Airbus team for well over a decade and I believe they have done a terrific job leading Airbus in the Americas. It is an honour for me to take up this opportunity to be part of the Airbus team. Airbus’ commitment to safety and decarbonisation is incredibly important to me personally, and I am both motivated by and committed to contributing to the Airbus purpose to pioneer sustainable aerospace.”
Here’s what Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury had to say about Hayes’ appointment:
“I am delighted to welcome Robin to Airbus. Together with the leadership team we’re looking forward to having Robin and his vast industry experience onboard to further deliver on our strategic objectives for the region across all the Airbus businesses and further grow our North American footprint. I want to thank Jeff for his many contributions to Airbus’ success over the years, and I wish him all the best for a well deserved retirement.”
Am I the only one who is confused?
As mentioned above, Hayes spent nine years as CEO of JetBlue, and finally “retired” in February 2024. At the time, it was explained that this decision was made at “the advice of [his] doctor,” as “the extraordinary challenges and pressure of this job have taken their toll.”
Now, just several weeks later, he’s going to be leading Airbus Americas? Nothing against Hayes, I’m just a bit puzzled by this appointment. Hayes’ background is in the airline industry rather than on the aircraft manufacturing side. That wouldn’t be a deal breaker if he were known for being an amazing leader or had a track record of success, but his tenure at JetBlue wasn’t exactly impressive by most measures.
He lead JetBlue as the carrier’s financial situation continued to deteriorate, he was behind the Spirit takeover that failed, and frankly he was in charge of the airline as it continued to offer customers more, while not being able to establish a revenue premium.
So I’m just curious what Airbus was looking for in picking a new CEO for Airbus Americas, and how the company ended up with Hayes? To Hayes’ credit, there are a couple of positive things that Airbus may have liked:
- JetBlue is a big Airbus customer and believer in the product, so I suppose it’s good to have an advocate for the brand
- While he may not have done a great job running his own airline, from 2020 to 2022, Hayes was the Chair of the IATA Board of Governors, and he has good relations with others in the industry
Bottom line
Former JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes will be joining Airbus, as CEO of the company’s Americas division. Just a couple of months ago, Hayes left JetBlue, citing health concerns, and now he’s taking on a big new role. In fairness, I have to imagine that being an executive at Airbus is a bit less stressful than being an executive at JetBlue.
What do you make of Hayes joining Airbus?
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