PARIS: In a sign that major aircraft orders are unlikely to be placed by Australian and Pacific airlines over the next few years, Airbus’s sales strategy in the region is shifting to fly-in, fly-out.
The aircraft manufacturer has appointed a Toulouse, France-based executive, Iain Grant, as its new head of the region rather than sending a replacement for outgoing senior vice president of sales for the Pacific Isabelle Floret to its Sydney office full-time.
Mr Grant, who heads the Airbus sales team serving International Airlines Group – the owners of British Airways, Iberia Airlines and Vueling – will remain in that role with the added responsibility of heading the group’s sales efforts in the Pacific. The British-born executive will be based in Toulouse but will fly to the Pacific region several times a year, assisted by Sydney-based regional director Pacific Michael Homer.
