picks

Oct. 23 (UPI) — American Airlines announced Thursday it is onboarding a new commercial chief as the air carrier seeks to match its rivals.

Company officials revealed Nathaniel Pieper will be American Airlines’ next chief commercial officer effective Nov. 3.

“Nat is a world-class, results-oriented leader who has achieved tremendous success throughout his entire career,” said American CEO Robert Isom, adding that Pieper was “well-versed in the airline business, having led teams across multiple” different airline conglomerates.

Pieper, 56, currently sits as CEO of the Oneworld alliance in a collaborative that includes a number of airlines, including American and British Airways. His prior experience included high-level positions in finance, networks and fleet strategy.

“Nat’s experience and expertise, coupled with his recent work with us leading oneworld, make him incredibly well-suited to lead our Commercial team moving forward,” added Isom in a statement.

Pieper, who will report directly to Isom, replaced Vasu Raju after a corporate business-travel strategy failed its goal and ignited fierce pushback from travel industry leaders.

“He is exactly the kind of leader we want at American — collaborative and a great people leader with a relentless focus on delivering results while keeping an eye to the future,” Isom said in a staff note seen by CNBC.

Pieper joined American after time at Northwest Airlines, Delta and Alaska Airlines after entering the industry in the late 1990s.

He will oversee, among other departments, American’s commercial business strategy, loyalty program, network planning and revenue and sales departments.

Over the summer the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a partnership proposal between American and JetBlue in the northeast United States.

Meanwhile, American Airline officials added in a release Steve Johnson will return as the airline’s chief strategy officer.

Wales’ players were crestfallen at the final whistle, glazed looks in their eyes as it dawned on them that a huge opportunity had slipped through their grasp.

Belgium’s goalless draw with North Macedonia on Friday had opened the door for Wales, who needed to win their remaining three games to finish top of Group J and qualify automatically for the World Cup.

But they fell at the first hurdle, outgunned by Belgium in another chaotic shootout after losing 4-3 in Brussels in June.

Again, Wales’ bold approach – to press and to pour forward at every opportunity – left them exposed defensively, and once again they were ruthlessly punished by Jeremy Doku, Kevin De Bruyne and the rest.

On reflection, did Bellamy feel his side were just a little too open?

“We felt the best way of being able to combat this team was to have the ball,” he answered. “And we created a lot of chances, but we felt that was the way of being able to beat this team because we needed to win.

“It was as simple as that, and you could see even towards the end, we opened up more. We lost a bit of control in the game. But I always believe the way you can stop the opposition from scoring is by having the ball.

“But that transition moment, with Jeremy, it’s so fearful every time you have the ball that if it turns over, this kid, he’s just that.

“I’ve experienced it. I had him on my team [at Anderlecht], and I knew how dangerous he was, but going against him… We knew there were going to be difficult moments in that game.”

This has been a bruising window for Bellamy, whose decision to take on England in a friendly at Wembley last Thursday was met with a mixture of scepticism, bemusement and outright criticism.

The outcome, a chastening 3-0 defeat, intensified the fans’ discontent, though they were willing to keep an open mind if it helped Wales beat Belgium.

Supporters will be less forgiving now Wales have lost – making it 12 goals conceded in five games – and seen their hopes of qualifying automatically go up in smoke.

But nothing will deter Bellamy, unshakeable in his beliefs.

“I’ve seen a lot today that makes me feel we can get close to these. We can get close. We need to keep improving,” he said.

“But I told you at the start when I was going to do this. I’m going to press, and I won’t sit back. I know that goes against some people, but this is who I am.

“And today, I’ve seen a team with flaws because I have them. A team that wants to do something, because I want to. I’m grateful for that.”