Airbus sales boss Leahy sets end-2017 retirement date - sources

Airbus sales chief John Leahy, a dominant figure of modern aviation, has resolved one of the most widely discussed questions in the aerospace sector by settling on a retirement date - the end of 2017, company executives said on Wednesday. The 67-year-old New Yorker said earlier this year he would retire soon to make way for his deputy Kiran Rao and hinted the handover would happen in the autumn by telling reporters he had no plans to attend the Nov 12-16 Dubai Airshow. The executives said Leahy had agreed to stay on until the end of December.