American Airlines Cargo has appointed Sam Mendenhall as vice president, operations.

Former operations leader David Vance has retired after a 34-year career at American Airlines.

Mendenhall joins the cargo team having spent 22 years at American. He most recently led the organisation responsible for all crew scheduling at the American Integrated Operations Center, spending five years in this role.

Before that, Mendenhall worked in the airline’s finance department.

American Airlines’ president cargo and vice president operations innovation & delivery Jessica Tyler commented: “David is leaving an incredible legacy for the cargo team, as well as American as a whole. He will be missed, but we are excited to welcome Sam to the team to lead the operation moving forward.

“Sam’s fresh perspective and proven leadership, combined with the cargo expertise of his team, will be a recipe for great things to come.”

Mendenhall will begin transitioning to his role immediately and report directly to Tyler. Reporting to Mendenhall will be cargo veterans Tim Paliganoff, Eric Mathieu and Elzbieta Kizer, who will continue to support the global operations team.