Ex-JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes to run Airbus North America

Former JetBlue Airways CEO Robin Hayes will run Airbus’ North America arm, replacing Jeffrey Knittel, the airplane maker said Monday.

Hayes left JetBlue in February after the airline’s planned acquisition of Spirit Airlines fell apart following a federal judge’s decision to block the deal in an antitrust lawsuit brought by the Justice Department.

Hayes, a longtime airline executive who has also held senior leadership roles at British Airways, will start in June. He will be managing Airbus’ business in the region, where it has expanded production of narrow-body jets in Mobile, Alabama. It has customers including Delta Air Lines, his former employer JetBlue and the carrier’s acquisition target Spirit.

When Hayes announced his departure from JetBlue in January, he said, “Extraordinary challenges and pressure of this job have taken their toll, and on the advice of my doctor and after talking to my wife, it’s time I put more focus on my health and well-being.”