James P. Rankin will take the helm as Air Wisconsin's (AWAC) president and CEO on August 1. Formerly, president and CEO of Skyway Airlines, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Midwest Air Group, Inc., Rankin succeeds Pat Thompson, who assumed the post as interim CEO in April after AWAC's long-time CEO, Geoffrey Crowley, left the position to head up an investment company owned by AWAC's shareholders. Thompson will rejoin William Jordan as the company's vice chairman.

Rankin has been with Midwest Air Group since first joining Skyway as a pilot in 1990. Within a few years, he moved through the positions of Chief Pilot and Director of Operations at Skyway before moving to Midwest Express Airlines in 1995. In addition to his current position as president and CEO of Skyway, Rankin also holds the position of senior vice president and general manager of Midwest Airlines Saver Service, Midwest's lower fare leisure product.

AWAC operates as US Airways Express, scheduling nearly 500 departures per day to 70 cities in 27 states and two Canadian provinces. It has a fleet of 70 Bombardier (BBD) Regional Jets and is the largest privately held regional airline in the United States.