Ravn Alaska Appoints New Senior Vice President of Flight Operations

Dave Pflieger, President and CEO of Ravn Air Group, Alaska’s largest regional airline, today announced that Deke Abbott, an airline operations, safety, and regulatory expert, will be joining Ravn Air Group’s new leadership team.

This final addition will complete the Ravn executive team reorganization that began under Mr. Pflieger’s direction last September.

“We are thrilled to have Deke join our airline,” said President & CEO, Dave Pflieger. “Operating with a ‘one Ravn’ mindset, Deke will be responsible for Flight Operations across both Ravn Alaska and Ravn Connect. Under his leadership, we will continue to drive a strong safety and compliance culture, and take our company to even greater heights.”

An experienced airline pilot, flight instructor and regulator, Abbott joins Ravn from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), where over nearly the past decade, he was responsible for the operational oversight of FAR part 135 airlines as well as setting operating policy for the FAR part 121 carriers. Prior to joining Ravn, Deke was the acting FAA Deputy Regional Administrator for Alaska, based in Anchorage.

Prior to that role, Abbott was the FAA’s Manager of the Polaris Certificate Management Office (CMO), which is responsible for the direct oversight of all operational and maintenance aspects of seven different FAR Part 135 commercial carriers in the state of Alaska. Before his time in Alaska, Abbott also served as Branch Manager, AFS-220 in Washington D.C., responsible for setting operating policy for all FAR Part 121 airlines in the U.S.

“Under Dave’s leadership, I’ve been extremely impressed with Ravn’s new “safety-first” focus and commitment to full compliance, transparency, and cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation, FAA, and the NTSB, and the company’s desire to far exceed all regulatory requirements,” said Abbott. “I very much look forward to joining the company and continuing the great work being done to make Ravn the industry-leading airline serving our great state.”

“With Deke’s experience at the FAA, and intimate knowledge of flying in this state, it’s an enormous compliment and vote of confidence that he has chosen to join our company,” Pflieger said. “His expertise and experience will further accelerate our safety and regulatory efforts, and our goal to be the safety leader in Alaska commercial aviation.”

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