International airlines Lufthansa and Swiss have announced the appointment of Mark Pey, an industry veteran, as their new country manager for Oman.

Pey succeeds Peter Schilter who held the position for seven years and now moves to become Swiss’ country manager for Kenya, the airlines said in a statement.

Pey, a native of Zürich, Switzerland, comes to the Sultanate with a wealth of knowledge in the airline industry. He will be responsible for administration, sales and marketing of Lufthansa and Swiss across the Oman market.

Prior to this, Pey was duty station manager for Swiss at Zürich Airport. During his tenure, Pey held various management positions including executive business sales representing Swiss, Austrian Airlines and British Midland International in Switzerland for two years.

A true airline professional, Pey’s career in the industry spans more than 15 years, said the airlines in their statement.

On his appointment, Pey said: "It is such a welcome move to be at the helm of Lufthansa and Swiss in Oman. The Sultanate shows great potential for both outbound and inbound travels to and from our hubs in Frankfurt and Zürich, and we are definitely in a position to take advantage of this."

"With Lufthansa and Swiss, our comprehensive network of destinations and combined strength will certainly meet the demand for travel to and from Europe, and allows us to leverage our strong brand and product offerings," he noted.

"After all, I’m representing two of the best airline companies in the world," he added.

Peter Pollak, Lufthansa general manager UAE and director of Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq, said, “Oman has always been an important destination in Lufthansa’s Middle East portfolio and we welcome the arrival of Pey to our team.”

Martin Massüger, director, head of Sales Middle East, Africa, Pakistan & Iran for Swiss said: "Change is always welcome at Swisss. With Pey leading our team in Oman, we expect continued strength for our brand and the unique product we offer."

From Muscat, Lufthansa and Swiss operate double daily flights for a combined total of 14 times per week to its Frankfurt and Zürich hubs.

Via its Frankfurt hub, passengers have access to the Lufthansa’s global route network of 127 destinations in Europe and a total of 211 around the globe in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Across the Middle East Lufthansa serves 13 destinations in 10 countries with the latest addition being Erbil, Iraq.-TradeArabia News Service