AirTran names new CEO: Fornaro

Robert Fornaro, who directed the rapid growth of discounter AirTran Airways as president, was named the airline's chief executive officer Wednesday.

Fornaro, 54, succeeds Joe Leonard, AirTran's chairman and CEO for the last eight years. Leonard will remain chairman of the company headquartered in Orlando.

When the two airline veterans arrived in 1999, AirTran was in financial shambles. They bought new Boeing jets to replace aging DC-9s and kept a tight rein on expenses.

AirTran's fleet has grown more than three-fold to 137 jets. Annual revenues, $450-million in 1998, are expected to hit $2.4-billion this year. AirTran has been profitable every year since 1999.

"We've gone from a troubled, weak airline with a poor image to one with quality that's very high," Fornaro said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

Steve Huettel, Times staff writer