Philip Saunders appointed COO of TUS Airways

TUS Airways, described as Cyprus’ leading and largest airline, has appointed Philip Saunders as its new Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), with effect from 6 April.

According to the airline, Saunders will be responsible for the sales and commercial activities of the company. “He is a British executive with a passion for aviation, developed over a distinguished career of more than 30 years in the global airline industry. Philip is a strong leader with tremendous energy and a constant focus on delivering beneficial change,” a relevant TUS Airways announcement said.

The airline also noted that Saunders brings a wealth of commercial aviation experience to the company and has worked in leadership roles for many well-known airlines across the globe. He is also described as having a strong track record in achieving positive turnarounds in several airlines operating in challenging environments.

Saunders commenced his career at British Airways and gained experience working across both commercial and operational functions over 13 years. Following this, he has led the commercial function at Deutsche BA, SN Brussels Airlines, Air Malta, Kuwait Airways, and held the role of CEO at Caribbean Airlines, as well as CCO & acting CEO at South African Airways.

His experience extends to airline alliance management as former VP Commercial at Star Alliance, the global airline alliance, which SAA belongs to, and as a vendor of technology to the airline industry as VP Air Commerce EMEA at Travelport, with responsibility for over USD1billion in revenues. Most recently, he served as CCO at flybe, a British regional airline.

Ahmed Aly, TUS Airways’ Chief Executive Officer commented: “We are delighted to welcome Philip onboard as TUS Airways’ new CCO. He is an industry veteran having worked in key global markets cutting across multiple functions. Philip joins the company at an important point in time, and we have absolute confidence that his knowledge and extensive experience will help us further strengthen our commercial ambitions and the airline’s leadership position not only in Cyprus but the wider Mediterranean region. We wish him all the best in his new challenge.”

Saunders said: “I’m excited to embark on this new role. I am confident that together with my team, TUS Airways will prosper to new heights, and continue its successful journey through strategic partnerships, expansion into new markets, all underlined through enhanced product and service offerings that reflect Cypriot warmth and hospitality. I look forward to building the commercial strategy and driving the business forward as the company continues its ambitious growth plans”.

TUS Airways announced a record number of passengers in 2022 with an increase of over 1,100% across the entire TUS Airways’ network compared to 2021.  During the year 2022, the airline successfully operated over 600% more flights than the previous year and grew its fleet by 150% with the addition of more Airbus A320 aircraft.

Announcing the achievement earlier this year, Aly stated: “Despite the challenges faced by the tourism and air travel industries in recent years, TUS Airways has remained committed & steadfast in growing and supporting the Cypriot and East Mediterranean air travel sectors by enhancing regional connectivity and playing a notable pillar in opening new routes and markets.  TUS Airways recently made a significant investment in tangible assets of approx. US $20 million, becoming the largest Cypriot airline by fleet size, number of destinations and passenger numbers, just months after relaunching in late 2021. This was, by no means, an easy feat and was only possible through the support of our shareholders, working closely with our partners in hospitality, the Cypriot Ministries of Transportation and Tourism and of course the dedication of the fantastic team at our airline.”