ABX Air names new president

ABX Air named Comair veteran David Soaper its president, effective Feb. 1, 2017. In this file photo, two ABX Air cargo planes sit at Wilmington Air Park, the airline’s headquarters. FILE.

ABX Air named Comair veteran David Soaper its president, effective Feb. 1, 2017. In this file photo, two ABX Air cargo planes sit at Wilmington Air Park, the airline’s headquarters. FILE.

Wilmington-based ABX Air Inc. will soon have a new president.

Air Transport Services Group, Inc. said Thursday that John Starkovich will retire as president of its subsidiary, ABX Air, with David Soaper being named as his replacement, effective February 1, 2017.

Starkovich joined ABX Air in 1998 as senior director of labor relations, the cargo airline said in a release. He held several roles in senior management, including chief labor counsel, and vice president of human resources and corporate services, before becoming president in March 2012.

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“John has brought immense value to this company through a diligent work ethic and prudent leadership style that set the standard among his peers,” Joe Hete, president and chief executive of ATSG, said in a statement. “We’re grateful for the role he played in ensuring the safe and reliable operation of the airline during his tenure here, and we wish him the very best in the future.”

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Soaper most recently held the position of president and chief operating officer at Connecticut-based Southern Air, Inc. Before that he served as senior vice president of aircraft operations for regional airline Comair, Inc. during a 28-year career with that company.

“I’m pleased to appoint Dave to lead ABX Air,” Hete also said in the release. “I’m confident the airline will benefit from his substantial industry experience and steady guidance going forward.”

Also based at Wilmington Air Park, ATSG says it is the world’s largest owner and operator of converted Boeing 767 freighter aircraft.

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