Dubai – Emirates announced the promotion of two Emiratis in the commercial operations department for Far East and Middle East as part of the Dubai based airline ongoing Emiratization initiative.

Emiratization is a program by the government of the United Arab Emirates to employ its citizens in the public and private sectors.

Badr Abbas has been named senior vice president - commercial operations Far East, and will be responsible for the development of commercial operations in the region. Starting his career with Emirates as a management trainee in 2000, Badr held various positions in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Cyprus, before being promoted vice president commercial operations UAE & Oman in 2012. Badr’s new area of responsibility covers 11 countries from Indonesia to Japan. 

Khalid Bel Jaflah has been appointed divisional vice president - commercial operations UAE & Oman, a market which comprises Emirates’ hub and the largest single market in terms of passenger revenue for the airline. Khalid began his career with Emirates’ management trainee program in 2001. He held managerial roles in Syria, Morocco, Senegal, India, East Africa and the UAE before becoming vice president commercial operations - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen in 2013.

Thierry Antinori, executive vice president commercial operations and chief commercial officer - Emirates Airline, said: “The promotions of Badr and Khalid, both seasoned executives in the Commercial team, reflects our commitment to the career development and progression of our employees. 

"Their appointments will further strengthen our management team and will keep us agile to meet the challenges of our industry. Badr and Khalid will be tasked with seeking out new commercial opportunities and driving revenue growth in some of our most critical markets and regions. From their impressive track-record in growing our business, I am confident that they will be successful in their new roles.”