Airlines

Executive appointments: Gulf Air

By Mark Pilling

Dosé make Gulf move

Former Swiss and Crossair chief executive André Dosé, who resigned from the helm at Swiss three years ago, is returning to airline management to run Bahrain-based Gulf Air. Dosé takes up office in April and replaces James Hogan who left Gulf Air in September and now runs Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways.

André Dosé, Gulf Air

"During the past three years I continued my involvement in the airline industry through a number of consulting jobs. But to return to the top of an international airline is a source of great satisfaction and a challenge," says Dosé, who has worked on high profile projects with German leisure group TUI, cargo operator Cargolux and with a low-cost start up carrier.

Dosé was not considered a front runner for the Gulf Air job. He resigned from Swiss in March 2004 as he faced the potential for personal prosecution following the fatal 2001 crash of a Crossair regional jet. This came at a troubled time for the then heavily loss-making carrier which went on to be taken over by Lufthansa.

But according to one insider, Dosé had done as much as he could to restore the fortunes of ailing Swiss under difficult conditions. Gulf Air said his wide experience across all sectors of an airline's operations was important and that he will "make a significant contribution to our airline's further growth".

His task at Gulf Air will be to take the airline into profitability following the marketing and commercial initiatives taken by Hogan, which included focusing its strategy on being a leading regional player. The latest available financial data for the carrier is for its 2004 results which showed an operating loss of $97 million on revenues of $1.2 billion.

Dose, 50, trained as a pilot in the USA and on his return to his native Switzerland he first became a pilot with Crossair. He held a number of management roles at the carrier rising to become chief executive in early 2001. He assumed the leadership of Swiss when Crossair effectively took control of its former parent later that year.