Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has expanded its commercial team in Saudi Arabia with the addition of two new sales positions in the Riyadh and Jeddah offices.

The new appointments are Aiyaz Khot as manager Central Province, who is based in Riyadh and Imran Rakhangi, as manager Western Province, based in Jeddah, a statement from Etihad said.

Etihad Airways’ vice president - global sales, Daniel Barranger, said: “Saudi Arabia is a key part of Etihad Airways’ network. The growth of the Kingdom’s sales force reflects the growing importance of this market for Etihad Airways.”

Both Khot and Rakhangi recently took up their new appointments and report to Fareed Al Alawi, the area general manager for Saudi Arabia.

Khot will oversee sales in the Central Province, the statement said. He joined Etihad Airways in 2007 and has held a number of sales positions in India. He brings over 10 years of experience in the airline and travel industry with extensive knowledge working in sales and business analysis.

Rakhangi will oversee sales in the Western Province. He joined Etihad Airways from Jet Airways where he held the position of country manager – Saudi Arabia, Western Province, it said.

He has more than 15 years of sales and marketing experience, having previously served as country customer service manager - TNT, with British Midland and British Airways.

Etihad Airways commenced services to Saudi Arabia in December 2004, and today operates a total of 43 flights weekly to Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh. – TradeArabia News Service