CEO starting over with new airline

Leading a new airline was an offer C. David Cush couldn’t pass up.

It drew him to leave American Airlines after over 20 years of service. Now Cush is getting comfortable in his new role as the chief executive officer of Burlingame-based Virgin America. The single 47-year-old Louisiana native did not begin life hoping to work with planes. Rather, Cush had a love for radio.

His love continued into college where Cush worked in radio. He did mostly news radio — the diction training from which still remains when chatting with Cush.

"The nice thing about college is you pay the same thing if you’re taking 12 hours or eight hours,” he said.

So Cush began taking extra psychology and radio classes at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. The class-load earned Cush a bachelor of fine arts degree in broadcast/film and a bachelor of science degree in psychology in 1982. A year later, Cush received a master’s degree in business from SMU.

Cush joined American in financial planning — he called it a training ground for those going into the airline industry. During his years at American, Cush was assigned to the regional headquarters in London as managing director of finance and administration for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. His roles changed ultimately covering a range of areas including Miami, the Caribbean, Latin America and Central America. Cush was senior vice president of global sales responsible for all sales activity worldwide when he accepted the position at Virgin America.

Cush was appointed as CEO of Virgin America on Dec. 10. It was the last of many steps to maintain approval to fly domestically.

The back-and-forth battle between Virgin America and the Department of Transportation began in 2006 when the proposal was tentatively denied for many reasons. Creating compliance that limits foreign control of domestic air carriers was a top concern. Replacing then CEO Fred Reid, the former Delta Air Lines Inc. president hired by British billionaire Richard Branson, founder of London-based Virgin Atlantic Airways, was another.

Branson was part of the interview process, he explained during an interview last week. The DOT expressed concerns of the perception of foreign control as a result.

"There are massive problems with American protection,” he said. "This is supposed to be the land of the free but it’s anything but.”

The airline’s final approval came in May 2007 with the caveat that Reid could stay with the company for six months after it took off. Cush was named as the replacement.

Branson did not sit in on Cush’s interview but feels he was a good choice.

Looking ahead, Cush’s main goal is maintaining the level of quality Virgin America hopes to attain while keeping prices low. The airline hopes to boast 30 cities over the next five years. Seattle is next on the list.

There isn’t a lot of free time in his new role. He travels a lot. However, Cush does enjoy the outdoors. He has been able to cycle since moving to San Francisco.

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105.