Etihad Airways has appointed Robin Middleton to manager alliances, where he will oversee Etihad’s relationship with the Virgin Blue Group.
Middleton, an Australian national who was formerly Etihad’s regional general manager Americas, will relocate to Brisbane, the home-base of Virgin Blue, to supervise the selling, marketing and distribution of Etihad’s partnership with VB. He was due to start today.
The alliance with Virgin Blue provides Etihad customers with access to 45 new destinations in Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, and the west coast of America. As part of the alliance, VB’s international airline, V Australia, will launch direct services to Abu Dhabi, enabling Virgin and Etihad to offer jointly 27 weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and Australia.
Etihad Airways CEO James Hogan said that Middleton has a “proven track record working with alliances in the USA” and “will be of great value to Etihad and Virgin Blue”.
