Emirates picks new SVP

Emirates has named Orhan Abbas as its new senior vice-president to head up its commercial operations for the Americas. Abbas was previously vice-president for India and Nepal, overseeing a period of sustained expansion which saw the airline more than double the number of services to the sub-continent in just four years. He has worked for Emirates since 1998, having also held senior commercial positions in Tanzania, South Africa and the Middle East. He has a degree in Business Administration from New York Regents College, Albany, New York. Commenting on his appointment, Abbas said: “The Americas is a strategically important market for Emirates, a fact underpinned by our recent period of significant growth. I look forward to the challenge of consolidating this expansion while continuing to seek new ways of developing our service offering across the continent.” Emirates started services to the Americas in 2004 with a daily flight to New York JFK, and today it flies to seven North American gateways — Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Toronto. A new service to Washington, DC will launch on Sept. 12. Go to http://www.emirates.com for more.