GoAir appoints Anand Sahai as COO ahead of international operations launch

Budget carrier GoAir has appointed Anand Sahai, the former Vodafone business head for East India, as its chief commercial officer (CCO) ahead of its plans to launch international operations later this year.

Sahai, whose appointment to the newly-created post is effective from July 24,  will report to the airline's chief executive officer (CEO), GoAir said in a statement.

Prior to joining the Wadia Group-promoted carrier, Sahai was spearheading the launch of a multinational energy drink major as its country manager.

Following the appointment of Sahai to the post, the heads of the sales and marketing and revenue management will report to him, the statement said, adding that the deputy general manager for service quality and customer relations will also be working under him.

He carries with him significant expertise in sales, product development, retail merchandising, pricing strategy and opening new business opportunities.

In the past, Sahai has served as Vodafone business head for East India as well as vice president for operations at Pepsico India, among others.

Launched in November 2005, GoAir currently operates across 23 destinations with over 1,225 weekly flights, with a fleet of 24 Airbus A320 family aircraft, including the latest A320 Neo planes.

The airline flies to Ahmedabad, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Jaipur, Jammu, Kochi, Kolkata, Leh, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Port Blair, Pune, Ranchi, Srinagar and Hyderabad.

GoAir CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer had last month said the airline plans to hit the international skies by the winter schedule.

The winter schedule of airlines in India starts from the last Saturday of October and goes up to the March end every year.