Southern Air Appoints David Soaper Chief Operating Officer

NORWALK, Conn., May 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Southern Air Holdings, Inc. today announced that David Soaper has been named Chief Operating Officer, effective May 15. Mr. Soaper joins Southern Air from Comair, a Delta Connection Carrier, where he held several senior operations management positions over the last 28 years.

Daniel J. McHugh, Chief Executive Officer of Southern Air, said, “David comes to Southern Air with significant operation and aviation industry experience and a deep understanding of all aspects of flight operations, including extensive knowledge of safety and security regulations, procedures and programs and a strong understanding of labor management. We are confident he will be a strong addition to our team and will be invaluable as we continue growing the company and expanding our fleet.”

Mr. Soaper said, “I am thrilled to join Southern Air, one of the world’s leading air cargo carriers. Southern Air has built a strong reputation as a leading ACMI operator, and I look forward to working closely with Dan and the entire management team as we continue to provide reliable, flexible air cargo solutions to our customers around the world.”

Mr. Soaper was most recently Senior Vice President, Aircraft Operations, for Comair. In this role he had operational and administrative oversight of Comair’s flight operations, corporate safety, corporate security, systems operations, inflight resources, flight training, crewmember resource, customer service operations, planning and performance. He joined Comair in 1982.

Mr. Soaper earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilmington College.