Regional Airline Executive of the Year goes to Virgin Express Chief Executive Jonathan Ornstein

Business Wire, May 28, 1996

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 28, 1996--Jonathan Ornstein, Virgin Express Chief Executive was awarded the regional airline industry's highest honor, 1995 Regional Airline Executive of the Year.

The award was presented to Ornstein, formerly of Continental Express for the remarkable operational and financial turnaround he achieved at Continental Express.

"I would like to thank everyone at Continental Express for their "beyond the call of duty" support and effort during the turnaround. I look forward to the challenges that await me at Virgin Express. I can not think of anything more exciting than being a part of a successful team aiming to change aviation in Europe," Ornstein stated after the award was presented to him at the RAA Annual Meeting in Orlando.

Ornstein joined Continental Express as President and Chief Executive in July of 1994. He was given the task to restructure Express into a profitable stand alone operation. In the two years prior to the restructuring Continental Express recorded annual losses in excess of $40 million. In the second half of 1994 the company broke even and was significantly profitable in 1995. The turnaround was accomplished with a 20 percent reduction in unit costs derived from significant improvement in aircraft utilization, employee productivity, aircraft scheduling and operational procedures.

Ornstein left Continental Express in late 1995, after the company decided not to spin off the regional carrier, he took the carrier from record losses to profitability in 18 months. Always ready for a new challenge Ornstein accepted an offer from Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson, to develop a low cost, low fare jet carrier in Europe. In April of 1996 Virgin announced the acquisition of Euro-Belgian Airlines and named Ornstein as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The company is based in Brussels and operates as Virgin Express which currently flies to Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, Milan, Vienna and Nice.

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