UAE carrier Etihad Airways has appointed Mahfood Al Harthy as its new General Manager for Oman. Mahfood joins Etihad Airways from Gulf Air where he held a number of senior sales positions in Bahrain, Indonesia, the South Pacific, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Etihad Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer, Peter Baumgartner, said: “Mahfood has more than 20 years of aviation experience and a doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Liverpool. He has the right credentials to accelerate the growth of our business in Oman.

“Oman is a key market for Etihad Airways’ network strategy, where we currently operate 20 services a week to its capital, Muscat. We are pleased to welcome Mahfood to our commercial organisation to lead the team into the next phase of development as the Omani market continues to grow.”

Mahfood said: “I am excited about working for Etihad Airways in my home country and look forward to further establishing our strong brand and service in the market while working closely with our trade partners and local industry stakeholders to build on our current success.”

Mahfood takes up the new appointment on 7 May 2012, reporting to Regional General Manager Middle East, Maen Abdul Halim

Etihad Airways started operations to Muscat in March 2006.