Vueling has appointed Nick Ashton to the role of head of alliances.

The newly created position, linked to Vueling Next, has a remit to maximise existing relationships and develop the company’s alliances strategy with a focus on customer experience and commercial optimisation.

Ashton will be part of the network planning and alliances area, reporting directly to Manuel Ambriz, chief network and alliances Officer.

As head of alliances, Ashton will be responsible for all aspects of alliance relationships, establishing and consolidating partnership with other airlines to provide clients with more choices and an enhanced customer experience, taking advantage of technological developments in the industry.

Vueling maintains codeshare agreements with its IAG (International Airlines Group) partners Iberia and British Airways.

The airline has also reached interline agreements with Qatar Airways and American Airlines, boosting long-haul flights from its main hub, Barcelona-El Prat Airport and establishing an important entry point for passengers from Qatar and the United States flying to Europe and vice versa.

Ashton is an experienced professional with more than ten years of experience in the aviation industry.

He started his career at British Airways, where he worked for five years in several areas such as customer service duty manager and cabin crew, marketing, network development and alliances.

In 2012, Ashton joined Qatar Airways´ network strategy team where he worked with the airline´s strategic partnerships, joint ventures and alliances.

His last experience was in Virgin Australia, where he worked for over three years managing the company´s alliances partnerships in the EMEA region.