It’s his job to keep American’s planes running on time

David Seymour’s job over the next few weeks is making sure that American Airlines flights take off on time and fly safely during one of the busiest travel periods of the year. Seymour is American’s chief operating officer, which means he oversees flight and airport operations for a carrier that figures to make about 6,500 flights a day between now and New Year’s Day. A West Point graduate and former U.S. Army infantry officer, Seymour joined America West Airlines in 1999. America West became US Airways, then merged with American in 2013. Seymour has held a variety of operations-related jobs and was promoted to his current post in 2020. Seymour spoke with The Associated Press recently about managing huge passenger numbers during the holidays and preventing people from getting on a plane before their boarding group is called. Story is a transcript of the interview.<br/>