John Russack Named Director of Operations for Empire Airlines

Nov. 11, 2016
Joining Empire in August of 2015, he came with 14 years experience in both the regional and mainline sectors.

Hayden, Idaho, November 4, 2016.  Empire Airlines, Inc. (www.empireairlines.com) announced that John “Jake” Russack has assumed the duties as Director of Operations, as defined by the FAA regulations under Part 119, effective October 25, 2016.

Jake has been an integral part of Empire’s Parts 121 & 135 Flight Operations since joining Empire in August of 2015. He comes to Empire with 14 years of experience in both the regional and mainline sectors at Garuda Indonesia Airlines, ExpressJet Airlines, and Air Mekong.

During his tenure at Empire, Jake has led the effort in completing an important Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) project as well as working with a vendor to provide full service navigation chart service. He also has provided invaluable guidance in initiating pilot hiring partnership agreements with carriers such as Frontier Airlines. He has and will continue providing company leadership and supervisory guidance for our flight and cabin crews and dispatchers.

Jake received his Bachelor of Arts degree in German and Political Science from the University of Arizona in Tucson and is also enrolled in graduate studies in Human Factors in Aeronautics at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne. Jake reports to Randy Lanfell, Empire’s Vice President of Operations.

In addition to being a cargo carrier, Empire Airlines maintains a fleet of ATR 42, 72, and Cessna Caravan aircraft and as Empire Aerospace provides maintenance services to other airlines.