The Air Transport Association of America elected Douglas Steenland chairman of the ATA board of directors.

The president and CEO of Northwest Airlines will serve a two-year term as ATA chairman. He will work with James C. May, president and CEO of the industry trade organization, to foster government action to expand the traffic management system in the United States, the group said in a statement.

"ATA and our member airlines thank outgoing board chairman Gerard Arpey of American Airlines, who chaired the industry group through a particularly difficult few years," said May. "With our thanks to Gerard, we look forward to Doug's leadership in continuing to advance the public's interest in a robust, dynamically structured aviation system."