ETIHAD Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has appointed Robert “Dougie” Douglas as its General Manager for Kazakhstan. Douglas, who assumes his new role on July 1, will lead the airline's commercial operations in Kazakhstan based in Almaty. He will also be responsible for further growing Etihad Airways' relationships with its travel trade and corporate customers. Douglas' aviation career spans more than three decades, including over 10 years with Etihad Airways, prior to which he worked with British Airways and its partner airlines in more than 10 countries, including Kazakhstan. He joined Etihad Airways in 2005 as the manager for Northern India and Nepal, based in New Delhi, and later served as the airline's General Manager for Indonesia for seven years before moving to Yerevan as general manager for Armenia. Etihad Airways' Vice President - Global Sales, Danny Barranger, said: “Dougie is an expert airline manager, knows Kazakhstan and the region very well, and his wealth of knowledge and experience from having previously worked and lived in Almaty will be instrumental in further strengthening our presence in the market.” Etihad Airways currently flies daily between Abu Dhabi and Kazakhstan, with five weekly services to Almaty and two weekly services to Astana. Both routes are operated by a two-class Airbus A320 aircraft configured with 16 Business Class and 120 Economy Class seats. — SG
