US Airways’ Kerry Hester Is an Executive Worth Watching

US Airways’ (NYSE: LCC) Senior Vice President, Operations Planning and Support, Kerry Hester, was named as one of Profiles in Diversity Journal’s "Women Worth Watching” for 2011. The publication’s September/October issue is dedicated to acknowledging the achievements and personalities of leading women executives. Ten executives, including Hester, were nominated by colleagues, peers and mentors for demonstrating initiative and earning achievements or accolades within their industries.

"It’s no surprise to us that Kerry was selected as a woman to watch in 2011,” said US Airways’ Chairman and CEO Doug Parker. "Kerry has played a key role in the creation and execution of our ancillary revenue programs and recently completed the transition to a new technology platform for our airline’s interactive voice response system. She is a customer advocate that champions service while keeping a business perspective on the bottom line, and we are fortunate to have her on our team.”

At US Airways, Hester is responsible for operations planning and analysis and overseeing crew resources. She also oversees reservations and the strategy, planning and service recovery functions within customer service.

Elise Eberwein, US Airways’ executive vice president of people, communications and public affairs, said, "Kerry is also an outstanding role model for all of our employees, and importantly takes time to mentor others. She recognizes the importance of informal mentoring relationships and accepts the responsibility for leading the way for others readily. We look forward to her future contributions to US Airways’ success.”

"I am truly honored to be featured alongside such an accomplished group of professional women,” said Hester. "While no two paths to professional achievement are the same, I attribute my career successes to maintaining a positive attitude, a strong sense of perseverance and an aptitude for continuous learning, and I surround myself with employees who share those attributes.”

US Airways’ commitment to diversity includes promoting and maintaining a diverse workforce, providing all 32,000 employees with access to various employee resource groups including the Professional Women’s Network (PWN). The PWN serves as a vehicle for the development and enhancement of career opportunities; a networking forum; as well as a company resource to address issues affecting women in their professional roles. The Professional Women's Network fosters a positive, creative and productive work environment for all employees free of bias and stereotype. US Airways’ employee resource groups continue to look for ways to impact the business and the communities they serve in a positive way.

US Airways received honors for other diversity efforts recently including being named as one of the 50 best companies to work for in the U.S. by LATINA Style Magazine, seven consecutive years with a 100 percent score with the Human Rights Commission’s Corporate Equality Index, and distinctions in the Black EOE Journal, Professional Women’s Magazine and Hispanic Business Magazine.

For more information or to meet the other Women Worth Watching, please visit the journal’s website at www.diversityjournal.com.

About US Airways

US Airways, along with US Airways Shuttle and US Airways Express, operates more than 3,200 flights per day and serves more than 200 communities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Central and South America. The airline employs 32,000 aviation professionals worldwide and is a member of the Star Alliance network, which offers its customers more than 21,000 daily flights to 1,185 airports in 185 countries. Together with its US Airways Express partners, the airline serves approximately 80 million passengers each year and operates hubs in Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia and Phoenix, and a focus city in Washington, D.C. at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. US Airways was the only airline included as one of the 50 best companies to work for in the U.S. by LATINA Style magazine’s 50 Report for 2010 and 2011. The airline also earned a 100 percent rating on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality index for the sixth year in a row. The Corporate Equality index is a leading indicator of companies’ attitudes and policies toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees and customers. US Airways also ranked #1 among its competing hub-and-spoke network carriers for 2010 performance as rated by the Wichita State University/Purdue University Airline Quality Rating (AQR). For more company information visit usairways.com, follow on Twitter @USAirways or at Facebook.com/USAirways.

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