Etihad Airways has parachuted a new chief executive into strategic partner Air Seychelles.
Roy Kinnear (pictured, centre left), senior vice president – revenue management and planning at the UAE carrier, takes up the new role tomorrow (Wednesday), replacing Manoj Papa after less than two years.
The Air Seychelles board, chaired by Joël Morgan, minister for foreign affairs and transport, approved the appointment.
Kinnear started his career with BMI before moving to Bahrain to become head of network revenue management at Gulf Air from 2002 to 2006. Following that role he joined Etihad.
Morgan said: “Roy brings new skills for a new phase in the continuous and very successful evolution of Air Seychelles, which now has a strong foundation and a growing reputation that extends well beyond the Indian Ocean, as a leading airline.
“Air Seychelles is focused on extracting maximum value from its modern fleet and its expanding regional and international network, which it will grow strategically with new destinations and trusted codeshare partnerships.”
He added: “I would like to sincerely thank Manoj Papa for his outstanding contribution over the past 18 months.”
Kinnear said: “I am proud to be given the opportunity to lead Air Seychelles with its demonstrated success and yet significant untapped potential.
“I look forward to working with leaders across all areas of the business to capture opportunities and drive performance, while continuing to build a supportive team-based culture.
“With a strong and focused team we will be able to tackle and succeed at anything we put our mind to; this is indeed a very exciting time in the evolution of Air Seychelles.”