Theo Panagiotoulias, an executive with 13 years of experience in the Asia/Pacific region, has been named Managing Director-Japan for American Airlines. Panagiotoulias, who will be based in Tokyo, replaces Nancy Knipp, who was recently named Managing Director-Premium Services for American and is moving back to the United States.
“We are very fortunate to have an executive of Theo’s extensive experience and deep understanding of the Pacific. This knowledge and experience will be invaluable as we continue to grow our presence between the United States and Japan and build partnerships across Asia and the Pacific,” said Craig Kreeger, American’s Vice President Europe and Pacific. “Theo’s proven track record of leadership and successful business strategies within American make him a natural choice for this position as we continue our expansion in the Pacific.”

Panagiotoulias most recently served as Managing Director-Asia/Pacific based in Hong Kong. He is a native of Melbourne and joined American in 1997 as its Manager-Southern Australia after working for several years for a major Australian travel company. In 1998, he was assigned to Singapore as American’s Regional Manager-South East Asia and the Indian Sub-Continent. He then moved to Tokyo as Director-Corporate Sales for the Pacific Division, a role he held between 2000 and 2002.

American operates daily trans-Pacific services from Tokyo to its U.S. gateway cities in Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York, San Jose and, since April, Los Angeles. Overall, American has increased capacity on its trans- Pacific routes by 23 percent in 2004, and passenger load factors on these routes are up by 12 percent year over year.
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