OREANDA-NEWS. American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) today appointed two new officers to its leadership team.

Loral Blinde, Vice President - People and Employee Services

Loral Blinde joins American Airlines as Vice President - People and Employee Services from the Seabury Group. He has more than 30 years of human resources experience, which includes time at Northwest Airlines, AirTran Airways and later Southwest Airlines. He will oversee employee services for American's domestic operations including employee relations, compensation, travel services and training.

Blinde served as Senior Vice President - Human Resources and Administration for AirTran Airways for more than 10 years and has led various human resource functions including employee relations, labor relations, recruiting, leadership training, benefits and compliance. He earned a bachelor's degree, a master's degree in Industrial Relations and a Juris Doctor, all from the University of Iowa.

Bruce Wark, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel

Bruce Wark has been promoted to Vice President and Deputy General Counsel and will oversee all intellectual property, commercial litigation and antitrust matters for the airline. Wark has managed American's interests in the areas of antitrust and international competition, intellectual property and other regulatory affairs. He was a key contributor to American's successful resolution of claims brought by the United States Department of Justice opposing the merger with US Airways, and has negotiated antitrust clearance for several international joint ventures.

Wark began his career with American in 1993 and has exceled in the areas of litigation and regulatory matters, most recently serving as Associate General Counsel. He earned a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, where he graduated with honors, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Denver, where he graduated summa cum laude.

"Loral and Bruce represent exactly what we are looking for in our leadership team at American Airlines - a passion for serving our people and outstanding business acumen," said Doug Parker, chairman and CEO of American Airlines. "They are both committed to restoring American to the greatest airline in the world, and we're thrilled to have them as part of our team."

American Airlines and US Airways merged in December 2013 to become the world's largest airline. They are combining operations at nine hubs, and have already merged significant parts of their cargo operations as well as corporate support functions. In 2015, the company expects to combine the American Airlines AAdvantage and US Airways Dividend Miles programs into a single frequent flyer program and to achieve a single operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration.