Virgin Atlantic is bolstering its commercial line-up with two key appointments.
Luke Goggin will join the airline as Vice President, Global Sales in August. He will be responsible for the airline’s global sales performance, with direct accountability for all corporate and agency sales.
Luke will be working closely with joint venture partners Delta Air Lines, Air France and KLM, and exploring new revenue growth opportunities with SkyTeam and other partner airlines across the global portfolio.
Rachel Wilton, Head of Sales Operations at Virgin Atlantic, will act as interim Vice President, Global Sales until August.
Goggin commented: “I have long admired Virgin Atlantic and I’m very much looking forward to taking on this pivotal role. I’m thrilled to be joining such a strong sales team, building on Virgin Atlantic’s robust trade, corporate and industry body relationships to drive profitable growth.”
Luke joins Virgin Atlantic from British Airways, where he was Head of UK & Ireland Sales and Global Accounts, accountable for the airline’s indirect revenue in the UK and Ireland, as well as global revenue accountability.
Luke held this responsibility across multiple global joint ventures in North Atlantic, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Liz Mathews will join the business as Vice President of Virgin Atlantic Holidays in March.
Liz joins from Flight Centre Travel Group where she held the role of Retail Managing Director and led Flight Centre UK through the pandemic to emerge as a stronger, more profitable business.
Mathews commented: “Demand for brilliantly different experiences is greater than ever post-pandemic, where customers are choosing to spend on a trip of a lifetime over hard goods.
I’m delighted to be joining the airline to lead the Virgin Atlantic Holidays team, delivering dream holiday experiences and contributing towards the airline’s ambition to be the most loved travel company.”
Chief Commercial Officer Juha Jarvinen commented: “I’m looking forward to welcoming Luke and Liz to these two crucial roles in our commercial team and to our beloved Virgin family.
“Luke will bring a wealth of airline corporate sales experience and strong insights into the dynamics of airline account management, joint ventures and sales operations.
“Meanwhile Liz has a very strong track record in travel industry leisure sales.
“Both will now play a critical part in delivering for our customers, supercharging our revenue growth ambitions, and delivering our vision of becoming sustainably profitable and the most loved travel company.”
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