Fiji Airways has a new CEO and Managing Director – the current head of Air Mauritius, Andre Viljoen.

Mr Viljoen’s appointment to the national airline was announced today by the Chairman of Fiji Airways, Mr. Nalin Patel. He will take up the position before 1 October 2015.

Mr. Viljoen has 33 years of professional experience in the airline and tourism industries and has been the CEO of Air Mauritius since 2010.

Mr. Patel said the Fiji Airways Board was extremely pleased that the Company would be led by someone, who as CEO of Air Mauritius, had transformed that airline, restored it to profitability and attained the coveted Skytrax 4 Star rating for product and service.

“Andre is an experienced airline professional with a strong business and customer focus. We believe he is the perfect person to lead Fiji Airways and will have the full support of the Board, together with our experienced management and team.”

Mr Viljoen joins Fiji Airways after its recent transformation, including its rebranding from Air Pacific and a fleet upgrade, and at a stage when it is exploring further commercial opportunities, including new routes.

“I am very excited to be joining Fiji Airways, the leading airline in the South Pacific, and will continue to build on its strong brand and lead its dedicated team to even greater heights”, Mr Viljoen said.

The Attorney General and Minister for Public Enterprises, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, welcomed Mr Viljoen’s appointment on behalf of the Fijian Government, the airline’s majority shareholder.

“I’m delighted that Fiji Airways has been able to attract yet another outstanding international airline executive to head our national carrier and fulfil our ambition to make it the world’s best boutique carrier. Andre has big shoes to fill in replacing Stefan Pichler – who produced a record financial result for Fiji Airways last year – but this is an outstanding choice and we look forward, under his leadership, to expanding the airline’s footprint into other international hubs”, the AG said.