Baldanza Now 'Operates' at US Airways - Brief Article

Brandweek, Oct 18, 1999 by Mike Beirne

Having a nice balance of operations management and marketing experience is what B. Ben Baldanza likes most about his background. In addition, US Airways' new svp of marketing has been in the world of privately held international carriers like Grupo Taca in El Salvador and trekked in the arena of big U.S. carriers, handling the evp of marketing post for Continental Airlines, internal staffing and management duties for United Parcel Service and financial and yield management chores for Northwest and American airlines.

"A lot of what we want to offer has to be backed by operations, which is why marketing has to be integrated with operations," said Baldanza, who is based in Arlington, Va. "Otherwise, in a best case scenario you'll have missed opportunities. In the worst case, you'll have missed the boat."

Baldanza is tackling the airline's 2000 marketing plan and factoring in his sense of project management and cost allocation know how. While details are in the works, his main mission is integrating and coordinating the US Airways Group brands under a cohesive umbrella. US Airways is the main carrier along with US Airways Express, a network of nine regional airlines; US Airways Shuttle, a single class product serving Northeast business travelers; and MetroJet, the low-fare regional carrier that some consumers do not realize is part of US Airways.

"We're going to focus on leveraging the strength of US Airways to reach a common goal by using all the brands strategically to reach the same objectives," said Baldanza, who holds an economics degree from Syracuse University and a masters in public affairs, specializing in transportation and economics, from Princeton University.