Danita Waterfall-Brizzi

Danita Waterfall-Brizzi

Danita Waterfall-Brizzi is married, has one daughter, and hails from Seattle, Washington. She started her aviation career in Feb, 1989, recruited from a U.S. Master’s degree program in Russian Studies into the Pan American Airways Management Training Program. After job training and coursework in New York, Danita received her immersion into Airport Customer Service for 20 months in Moscow, Russia.

From there, she was transferred to the European Headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany as Regional Analyst support for both ACS and Passenger Sales management through the transition of the Delta acquisition of Pan Am, which included temporary duty assignments in Belgium, Sweden, and Atlanta.

When the headquarters moved to London, Danita transferred there into the position of Manager – Sales Training & Administration, developing the first passenger and cargo sales training department in Europe, as well as the first European-based Regional Assistant StepUp program.

In September, 1994, Danita was sent back to Moscow, taking over the near-bankrupt joint venture between Delta and Aeroflot as Executive Director – DATE, Delta Aeroflot Travel Enterprise. While there, she developed the business to a successful profit center, including the Airport First Class lounge, which is still there today, Worldspan reservations systems office and training center, and DATE travel agencies.

In 1996, Danita became the Regional Director – Cargo Sales & Operations – Europe, Middle East, and India responsible for cargo sales and operations for 44 online cities in the region and a budget of USD 185 million. Her tenure included the re-structuring of the former Pan Am cargo hub and warehouse in Frankfurt, implementing extensive changes in cargo security, negotiating handling and sales vendor contracts, creating sales and marketing plans, opening of new stations in the Delta international expansion, and participation in the development and implementation of the Delta Cargo / Swisscargo Atlantic Cargo Excellence, and later Air France Cargo alliances.

In July, 2009, Danita was promoted to the position of Director – Cargo Sales & Service – Europe, Middle East, Africa and India, based in Frankfurt, where she oversees DL staff and General Sales & Service Agents in 50 online and offline stations in 33 countries. She enjoys swimming, playing classical piano, teaching Sunday School, and continuing to refine her language skills in Russian, German, Italian and French.