New Ceo travel tips

It’s been a dramatic weekend at Icelandic low-cost carrier Play.

The appointments of Yasser Ahmed and Nicolas Anghelopoulos mark a significant milestone in Action Hotels’ journey towards continued growth, innovation, and service excellence.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, February 9. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Change is in the air at Finnair. The Helsinki-based flag carrier has confirmed that Turkka Kuusisto will be the airline’s new chief executive. The appointment follows the resignation of incumbent Topi Manner in August last year. 

Jetstar Asia, the low-cost carrier based in Singapore, has appointed John Simeone as its new CEO. Barathan Pasupathi, the outgoing CEO who led the airline for 12 years, will step down from his role on March 1 to “pursue other opportunities.”

Luxury hospitality brand Inspirato has a new CEO: Eric Grosse.

ToursByLocals has appointed Lisa Chen as its new CEO. The leadership change comes as co-founder and former CEO Paul Melhus steps into the role of Executive Chairman of the Board.

Luxury hospitality brand Inspirato has appointed a new CEO: Eric Grosse, a current board member, will take over from Brent Handler, Inspirato’s founder and its CEO for the past 13 years, the company announced Monday.  

Consider it the year of Italy for IHG Hotels & Resorts.

Wheels Up is again turning to Delta Air Lines for C-suite leadership. After appointing the Atlanta-based airline’s CFO Dan Janki as Chairman last month, the New York-based private jet flight provider is tapping Delta Board Member George Mattson as CEO.

Accor, the Paris-based hotel giant, said on Tuesday that Omer Acar will head its brands Raffles & Orient Express as of March 1. Acar will join Accor’s other brand CEOs in its luxury and lifestyle group (Fairmont, Sofitel & MGallery, and Ennismore) — all of whom report directly to group CEO Sébastian Bazin.

Cathay Pacific announced on Wednesday that CEO Augustus Tan would be stepping down on December 31 andchief customer and commercial officer,Ronald Lam would succeed him.

Rocked by a Covid relief financial scandal that led to the jailing and resignations of now-former CEO Fabio Cannavale and chief operating officer Andrea Bertoli, Amsterdam-based Lastminute.com’s shareholders elected Luca Concone as an executive director, and he’ll serve as CEO.

Cendyn, a software company that offers customer relationship management, digital marketing, and operations tools to hotels, has hired a new chief executive. 

AirAsia on Tuesday announced the appointment of Mohamad Hafidz, who is currently the chief fintech officer, as the acting CEO of AirAsia superapp from April 1 onwards. 

The UK’s On the Beach Group has now said chief financial officer Shaun Morton will take up his new position as CEO on June 30.

Ride-sharing firm Lyft has appointed David Risher, a former Amazon and Microsoft senior exec, as its new CEO.

Travel metasearch company Trivago said on Tuesday that Johannes Thomas had become CEO and Managing Director, succeeding Axel Hefer, as the company struggles to return to its pre-IPO glory days.

Qantas Airways first new CEO in 15 years is Vanessa Hudson, who will take over from Alan Joyce in November. Hudson will inherit an airline that has emerged strong from the pandemic. During the first six months of the Qantas 2023 fiscal year, the airline posted an A$1.5 billion ($1.1 billion) operating profit and a 16 percent operating margin, besting its results in 2019.

London’s Heathrow Airport has appointed Copenhagen Airport boss Thomas Woldbye as its next chief executive, who will take charge of western Europe’s busiest airport later in the year.

IHG Hotels & Resorts‘ new CEO Elie Maalouf said his strategy is to make the company’s portfolio as appealing to owners and guests as possible. Maalouf spoke to Skift on Tuesday after his first earnings call as CEO, having taken the helm last month.