Chaitan is currently the Director of Regulatory Affairs at United Airlines, based in Washington D.C. In his current capacity he serves as a liaison to US Federal Government Agencies on regulatory matters and leads United’s engagement with the DC diplomatic corps. Chaitan also leads United’s engagement with the Department of Transportation on the airline’s international joint ventures. He has been heavily involved in United’s COVID-19 response, working across the company on testing requirements, repatriation flights, and the future customer journey.
Prior to joining United in 2019, Chaitan worked for over a decade at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), based in Geneva, Switzerland. At IATA he had a variety of roles, most recently Assistant Director of External Affairs, leading IATA’s engagement several global policy issues and advising regional colleagues on ongoing industry challenges in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. In this position Chaitan lead a project to define how aviation will evolve over the next 20 years, which became the heart of the association’s strategic planning process. He also served on the leadership team of IATA’s largest division, with over 700 employees, and led teams to provide that division with strategic planning and communications services.
Before joining IATA Chaitan worked as a consultant to the Abu Dhabi government and the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation in Mumbai, India. He also worked for an India-based NGO, the GIVE Foundation, leading a business unit which aimed to bring greater transparency to India’s non-profit sector and increase charitable giving. He began his career at Exxon Mobil Corporation in Washington and Houston, serving in a variety of communications and international government affairs roles.
He holds a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School, and Bachelor of Arts in Quantitative Economics and International Relations from Tufts University. Chaitan is fluent in English and French and proficient in Hindi.