Don Wright

Don Wright is the Vice President of Maintenance & Engineering at Alaska Airlines.

Wright joins company after retiring from United Airlines, where he served as vice president of maintenance operations, responsible for more than 6,500 line maintenance employees at 45 stations as well as third-party aircraft maintenance vendors globally.

While at United, and previously Continental Airlines, Wright held various leadership roles, including vice president of the Newark hub, where he was responsible for Newark, JFK and LaGuardia operations. He was also managing director of technical operations in LAX, accountable for aircraft line maintenance operations in the western United States and the Asia/Pacific regions.

Wright first joined Continental Airlines in 1988 as an international maintenance representative in Sydney, Australia, and quickly rose through the ranks to lead teams around the world including Asia/Pacific, Europe and Latin America.

Wright launched his career with Qantas Airways as an aircraft maintenance engineer, the Australian equivalent to an FAA-licensed aircraft technician and holds an FAA airframe and powerplant certificate.

Wright is a current trustee for Air Camp, which provides students hands-on opportunities to learn about STEM-related fields, including aviation and aeronautics. He and his wife Joanne have two children and currently live in the San Juan Islands in Washington.