Hollis Harris

Harris, president and chief operating officer of Atlanta-based Delta Arilines from 1987 to 1990, was a native of Carrollton. His 36 years at the company spanned an era of remarkable growth and change for both the industry and Delta. Harris started working at Delta in 1954, when still an aeronautical engineering student at Georgia Tech. He rose through the airline’s ranks from the engineering department to upper management. Harris left Delta in 1990 to become CEO of Houston-based Continental, succeeding the controversial Frank Lorenzo. At the time he was the highest-ranked Delta executive to ever leave for another carrier. Continental was troubled and within months entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Harris left in 1991 and later took the helm at Air Canada from 1992 to 1996. After leaving Air Canada, Harris embarked on a short-lived effort to launch a new airline in California called CalJet. In 1999 he became CEO of charter carrier World Airways and moved its headquarters to Peachtree City. He retired from the company in 2004. World Airways has since ceased operations, shutting down in 2014 after attempting to restructure under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. More recently, Harris was on the advisory board to Propeller Investments, a private equity firm that sought unsuccessfully to commercialize Gwinnett County’s Briscoe Field and is now seeking to commercialize Paulding County’s airport. He was preceded in death by his wife, Joyce Entrekin Harris, and is survived by his three children, Patricia, David and Jeff.