Jet2holidays has promoted head of trade sales Alan Cross to the newly created position of travel agent relationships director.
The sister brand of Jet2.com said the creation of the role “reflects Jet2holidays’ continued commitment to working alongside independent travel agents and homeworkers to create mutually beneficial relationships and partnerships”.
It said this senior position reports directly to chief executive Steve Heapy and “demonstrates how integral these partnerships are to the company’s business strategy and continued success”.
The promotion follows news in February that Jet2holidays is recruiting to fill four positions in its dedicated trade team to expand numbers to 20.
Cross joined Jet2holidays more than 14 years ago to launch its trade sales channel and has been head of trade sales for the past 10 years.
He has worked in the travel industry for almost 45 years in several roles including retail, airline reservations, cruise, advertising, publishing and corporate software.
Heapy said: “Working in partnership with independent travel agents and homeworkers is a critically important part of our business and we are recognising that by creating the new position of director of travel agent relationships.
“Alan has done a tremendous job leading our award-winning trade sales team, to the point where we are recognised as the industry-leaders when it comes to working with independent travel agents and homeworkers.
“I know he will continue to deliver even more success in this new role, and I am sure our partners will join me in congratulating Alan on this deserved promotion.”
Cross added: “We are seeing strong demand for our award-winning package holidays and we want to explore every avenue possible to build relationships, capitalise on this demand, and create mutually beneficial partnerships.
“With lots more exciting news in the pipeline, we are looking forward to even more success working together with independent travel agents and homeworkers.”