American Airlines has confirmed that Kevin Brickner, who currently serves as vice president of safety and operations integration, as well as the airline’s certificated director of safety, has been promoted to senior vice president of technical operations.

Brickner takes over the role from David Seymour, who was named senior vice president of integrated operations in 2016.

He will be responsible for overseeing line and base maintenance; engineering, planning and production support for airframes, engines and components; and aircraft supply chain operations, among many other responsibilities.

American has promoted Ron Thomas to vice president of safety to assume Brickner’s previous position.

“Kevin has a strong background in both safety and technical operations, and I’m confident in his ability to lead the company’s technical operations initiatives as we continue to focus on improving our operations,” said Seymour.

“It was important to appoint someone to this position who is well-versed in the intricacies of our aircraft maintenance programs and processes and who possesses the knowledge, experience and leadership skills to develop strategies that ensure the safety and reliability of our aircraft.

“Those qualities, combined with Kevin’s overall commitment to our customers and team members, make him a perfect fit for this role.”

In turn, Thomas will be responsible for driving the airline’s safety strategy as well as overseeing safety and regulatory compliance programs throughout the airline and the airline’s environmental sustainability program.

He joined the airline in 1987 as a Boeing 727 flight engineer, and, for many years oversaw the airline’s flight technical operations.

He was instrumental in the integration of regulatory-related processes and systems related to the American-US Airways merger, and, in his most recent role as managing director of flight operations, oversaw the operations of all the airline’s mainline flights and was responsible for developing and maintaining flight policies, procedures and the safety management system.