Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation announced it has named Gary Pratt to the position of director of maintenance, reporting directly to Ed Baranowski, managing director of maintenance. In his new role, Pratt will assume leadership of the maintenance operations division, where he will be responsible for decisions relevant to our maintenance operations in Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Norfolk, Va., as well as oversight of sourced maintenance providers.
"I am very excited to have Gary as a member of my team," noted Baranowski. "Gary brings over 10 years of maintenance operational leadership to our company with proven managerial excellence in the oversight of multiple field station operations. Gary's leadership brings forth experience in process/productivity improvements, team building and financial management. With his unique combination of leadership qualities and operational experience, I'm confident Gary will take our maintenance operations to great heights of operational excellence and economic efficiency."
Pratt brings extensive knowledge and experience to his new role. Prior to joining Air Wisconsin, Pratt's career spanned more than 20 years with Delta Airlines. Pratt started his career at Delta as an aircraft technician and assumed increased responsibilities in the positions of lead technician, fleet analyst/maintenance coordinator, shift manager, FAA liaison for regulatory programs, regional manager and station manager of Delta's line maintenance operation in Cincinnati.
Pratt holds a bachelor of science degree in aviation management from Southern Illinois University, an avionics certification from the Salt Lake Community College, and an FAA airframe and powerplant license.
Air Wisconsin, the largest privately held regional airline in the United States, operates as US Airways Express, scheduling nearly 500 departures per day to 69 cities in 26 states and two Canadian provinces. The fleet includes 70 Canadair Regional Jets. Additionally, Air Wisconsin performs ground-handling services for United Express at over 20 locations throughout the country.
