Alumni Profiles

On those few occasions when Rakesh Gangwal actually has some free time, he always chooses to spend it with his wife and nine-year- old daughter. In July, for example, the family flew to France to attend both the World Cup soccer finals and the victory parade on the Champs Elysee.

It’s an appropriate perk for a man who is credited with helping to take an ailing airline — US Airways — and make it one of the highest flyers in the industry.

In his two and one half years at US Airways, Gangwal, who was named CEO in May, has helped increase market capitalization from $800 million to $8 billion. The company’s stock has risen from $14 a share to $77 this summer. And the company now ranks in the top three airlines in terms of on-time performance, baggage handling and the fewest consumer complaints.

A number of new initiatives at US Airways bear Gangwal’s direct imprint. He has, for example, just launched US Airway’s MetroJet service, a no-frills, low-cost operation that concentrates primarily on East Coast leisure destinations like Florida and New England. “The MetroJet service involves quick turnarounds of aircraft that drive up asset utilization. Moreover, there are no meals and you get seat assignments only at the gate,” says Gangwal, who worked on a similar program on the West Coast for former employer United Airlines. “It brings down both costs and fares … MetroJet started in June and has already been spectacularly successful.”

US Airways, based in Arlington, Va., is not only adding more planes but also bigger ones. The company recently ordered a fleet of widebody A330 aircraft that will fly 275 passengers in a three-class cabin compared to the current 203-seat, two-class cabin design. The new planes, Gangwal says, “will be more spacious and will have more cargo carrying capacity, which means greater revenues.”

Primarily an East Coast airline, US Airways recently expanded its routes in Europe, which Gangwal describes as a “fundamental and natural market for the company.” Passengers who previously were limited to Paris and Frankfurt can now fly US Airways direct to Madrid, Munich, Amsterdam, London and Rome.

Gangwal was born in Calcutta and earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology. He and his family were strong supporters of Mother Teresa before her death last year, and continue to be benefactors of her Calcutta-based Missionaries of Charity.

Gangwal’s swift ascent in the airlines industry started in 1980 when consultant Booz Allen & Hamilton assigned him to work with client United Airlines. In 1984, United hired him as a manager for strategic planning. After 11 years, he left United as senior vice president, planning, to become executive vice president for planning and development at Air France.

Gangwal spent 18 months in Paris reviving the French airline by creating a new route network, frequent flyer program and fleet plan, among other initiatives.

In 1996 US Airways appointed him president and COO. “When I came here, it was a very troubled company,” says Gangwal. “People had given up hope of US Airways ever being a force in the marketplace.” He set to work improving product quality and operating performance, hiring new managers and making them more accountable, establishing a strategic plan, buying airplanes and negotiating new labor contracts. “We were fortunate that we were implementing strategic changes at a time when the economy was booming … It allowed us to stay focused on our plan and to keep funneling money back into operations.”

Gangwal’s management style didn’t hurt. In an industry known for confrontational labor relations and dictatorial executives, he has always preferred a more collaborative approach. “Anytime we do big projects, we have task forces,” says Gangwal. For the MetroJet project, the 25-member group included union leaders, line employees, pilots, mechanics, managers and company officers. “They came up with an operating plan, a marketing plan and a launch schedule, all within a specified framework,” Gangwal notes. “I have found that this kind of cooperation pays off handsomely for everyone involved.”