Andrew B. Steinberg
Consultant; Former Assistant Secretary for Aviation
and International Affairs, U.S. Department of Transportation
Andy Steinberg recently left DOT, and currently consults on strategic and regulatory matters for a variety of clients in the aviation, airline, and e-travel industries. Formerly, he was assistant secretary for Aviation and International Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Transportation. He was nominated by President Bush and confirmed last September by the U.S. Senate. In this role, he supervises the Office of Aviation and International Affairs, with responsibility for licensing of U.S. and foreign airlines, formulation of U.S. international aviation policy, and administration of the Department's economic policies and programs.
From May 2003 until September 2007, Steinberg was the FAA's Chief Counsel. In that role, he served as the top legal advisor to the Administrator of the FAA, overseeing 290 individuals (including approximately 200 lawyers).
As a former executive at Sabre, the computer reservation system and IT-solutions provider spun off from American Airlines, Steinberg has a broad vision of how aviation is likely to evolve as value comes from optimization as well as operation. From 1996 to 2000, he was senior VP and then executive VP, general counsel and secretary of Sabre, having previously worked with American and stayed with the Sabre unit when it spun off in 1996. When Travelocity.com subsequently spun off from Sabre in 2000, he moved with it, working as EVP of administration, general counsel and corporate secretary until 2002. From 1986 to 1990 he practiced antitrust law and did commercial litigation with Los Angeles law firm Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher.
Steinberg anticipates major changes in the aviation industry - in response to its current problems - and is eager to see the DOT and FAA change as well. He says: "Imagine trying to redesign the national highway system for maximum safety and optimal efficiency assuming a 100 or 200 percent increase in the number of automobiles in just a few years, yet that's what we now face in aviation" with the predicted proliferation of small business jets.
Steinberg earned his bachelor's degree in politics magna cum laude from Princeton University and graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School.
