As the son of a former chief executive of Trans Caribbean Airways, which merged into American Airlines in 1970, Patrick J. Cooney received early exposure to the travel and transportation industry.

After he graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University in his home state of New Jersey, Cooney joined the “family business” as a reservations agent for American Airlines in New York. And Cooney has never navigated away from the sector.

Recently, he was named general manager in the Los Angeles office of Ryan’s Express, a transportation services company that provides chartered buses and chauffeured passenger pickup service. Cooney is responsible for sales, marketing and operations of L.A. and Orange counties.

His day begins as early as 4 a.m., Cooney said, when the Wall Street Journal hits his house door. He gets in the office before 8 a.m., serving clients, making sales calls and managing staff.

“In my world where the focus is on corporate travel, I deal with people from all over the world,” said Cooney, who added what he enjoys most about his job is its involvement with all aspects of the operation.

One of his duties that he singles out as being the most important is staffing. “We have to look at labor pool differently from we did 10 years ago,” Cooney said. “We need to be more creative; it’s always challenging to find the proper employee.”

With the increase in gas prices, the travel industry has slowed down, but Cooney is optimistic that Ryan’s Express will remain competitive.

“With fuel costs and all forms of transportation available in the market, there’s a challenge. But I believe it’s doable,” he said. “I think our resources with large and minicoaches will enable us to grow the business.”

Cooney lives in Palos Verdes with his wife, Linda, and 13-year-old son, Joey. Cooney likes to travel with his family in his free time. He believes traveling is a great way to educate his son.