James Forbes Biography and Net Worth

James A. (Jim) Forbes was appointed to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the company on January 1, 2020. In addition to his role as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Atlas Air Worldwide, he will serve as Chief Operating Officer of the company’s subsidiaries Atlas Air, Inc. and Southern Air, Inc.

He has over 30 years of aviation operating experience, including more than 20 years with Atlas Air Worldwide. He is currently Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer for Southern Air. In this role, he has been responsible for all aspects of the day-to-day Southern Air operation, including flight, ground and technical operations, as well as safety, performance and customer satisfaction.

Mr. Forbes joined Atlas in 1997 as Senior Director of Ground Operations, where he helped build the global infrastructure upon which Atlas has grown. He was promoted to Vice President, Worldwide Ground Operations in 2001, overseeing station operations for all of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo. In 2008, Mr. Forbes was named Senior Vice President for System Performance and Quality at Polar Air Cargo Worldwide, Atlas’ joint venture with DHL Express. In that role he led the transformation of the all-cargo network into today’s on-time express operation that supports DHL Express’ worldwide air network.

Prior to joining Atlas, Mr. Forbes was Station Director for USAir’s transatlantic hub in Philadelphia, overseeing 350 daily departures and leading nearly 2,000 employees. Earlier in his career, Mr. Forbes served as Chairman of the Merger Committee for Teamsters Union Local 278, which represented ground employees of Pacific Southwest Airlines and negotiated the all-airport staff merger of USAir and Pacific Southwest Airlines.