Hans Airways appoints chief commercial officer

Hans Airways announces the appointment of Martin Dunn to the position of Chief Commercial Officer.

Martin Dunn joined the business in November 2021 as Director Sales and Distribution from Etihad Airways, where he led commercial teams focused on pricing, revenue and route management for the Abu Dhabi-based carrier and its airline brands.

At Hans Airways Martin is working closely with CEO Satnam Saini in the executive leadership team and is responsible for overall sales, distribution, marketing, brand and product, e-commerce and digital retail functions, as the airline heads towards launch later this summer.

Martin brings a solid four decades’ airline experience in the UK and Middle East, having started his aviation career via the travel agency route. His first airline job was with British Midland in sales, where he was responsible for developing pricing strategy, and establishing the distribution process. He was closely involved in the regional carrier’s move into Star Alliance, working alongside counterparts in Lufthansa, SAS and United Airlines.

After 16 years in Derbyshire, Martin moved to the Middle East, initially working with Gulf Air in Bahrain, heading commercial route management and supervising country sales teams, before joining Etihad in 2007, initially as head of commercial route management, then head of strategic pricing, interline and digital retail.

“Martin’s experience in airline pricing and revenue management, plus his ability to lead and inspire teams was highly attractive to the Hans Airways’ Board as we determined an ideal commercial leader. Together with his extensive international airline experience and vast industry contacts, he is proving to be a terrific asset,” said Satnam.

“I have held many roles in the airline industry but the opportunity to be part of a start-up airline is very exciting,” said Martin. “I met Satnam and quickly embraced his vision and mission for Hans Airways – to build a community airline for the people, by the people, while giving back to good causes.”

“After months working mainly by video calls it is great to be be able to get out and meet face-to-face again. I’ll be drawing on my extensive experience to help develop an airline and product that customers want to experience - at a price they can afford. We look forward to welcoming our first customers on-board soon.”

Hans Airways is the UK’s newest hybrid, long-haul airline venture, blending value for money fares with a quality inflight service offering. Hans Airways will offer two classes of cabins: Economy class with a 31-inch seat pitch and 274 seats, and Premium Economy (called "Anand Plus"), offering a 56" pitch and 24 seats. It will offer high quality complementary inflight entertainment and catering as standard.

Hans Airways’ senior management has identified a high demand for regular secondary city air links between the UK and India, drawing on its CEO’s considerable experience instigating a series of charter flights for Monarch Airlines and FlyJet.