Virgin Atlantic is delighted to announce the appointment of Gia Acitelli, who returns to the airline as Commercial Manager, Australia and New Zealand. Based in Sydney, Gia will build and manage sales and distribution strategies across the region.

Gia brings with her more than 20 years’ experience in the market. She previously enjoyed 14 years with Virgin Atlantic before serving as Regional General Manager of the company’s General Sales Agent in Australia. She is well known and highly respected in the market for implementing extensive commercial relationships with stakeholders across the Australia-New Zealand travel trade.

The appointment will mean Virgin Atlantic is bringing its’ Australian and New Zealand operation in house to offer a more personalised service for customers. Gia commented, “I’m thrilled to return to the Virgin Atlantic family and look forward to continuing to provide an unrivalled service for our customers across Australia and New Zealand. There is great potential for developing new opportunities with our airline partners across the region, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Brad West, Virgin Atlantic Head of Asia, said, “We’re happy to welcome Gia back on board as part of the Virgin family. She is a vital part of our business in Australia and New Zealand as we continue to grow. We are fully committed to serving the region, and recently announced a new codeshare agreement with Virgin Australia to create more travel options to and from the UK.”

Through the new codeshare partnership, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia will offer a seamless customer experience across the world. The deal will create more travel options for customers – with connections via Los Angeles, and access to Australian domestic flights - with the benefit of a single check in and boarding pass.

Virgin Atlantic operates direct flights from the UK to the United States, South Africa, Nigeria, UAE, India, Hong Kong and China. The British carrier works in partnership with airlines including Delta and Virgin Australia to create global itineraries for customers.