The new Eddie Lim is announced!

Emirates has announced the appointment of Stephen Pearse as Vice President Australia, taking over from industry legend Eddie Lim, with position being upgraded from Area Manager to Vice President, reflecting the strategic importance of Australia in Emirates’ global plans.  

Stephen brings more than 17 years of aviation experience to the role, in particular from his most recent position as Country Manager Australia/South Pacific for United Airlines, where he has managed up to 230 staff and was responsible for the entire spectrum of the airline’s operations.

He will be responsible for all of Emirates’ Australian businesses and activities, including sales and revenue, sponsorship management, frequent flyer programme Skywards, Emirates SkyCargo, marketing, finance, operations, and maintenance.

He said: “Like many of us in the industry, I’ve long been an admirer of Emirates and have watched with interest the growth of its business both internationally and within Australia. I’m delighted to join one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, and look forward to the challenge of securing more Australian flights for Emirates; bringing more tourism dollars and passengers to Australia; and providing the very best service and choice of travel destinations.”

He added: “Australia is one of Emirates’ most important markets and the airline has many exciting and challenging projects ahead.  Launching new destinations, the construction of the $50m Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa, plus our campaign to secure more flights into Australia are all tremendous opportunities to enhance the Emirates brand in Australia by providing the best travel options for both inbound and outbound visitors to Australia.”

Ghaith Al Ghaith, Emirates’ Executive Vice President, Commercial Operations Worldwide said: “We have upgraded the position, which leads all our teams in Australia, from an Area Manager to that of a Vice President. In the past decade, our services to Australia have grown from four weekly flights to Melbourne, to 49 weekly flights to four cities – Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth – and 28 weekly flights across the Trans-Tasman to Auckland and Christchurch. The new position accurately reflects the surge of customer demand for Emirates’ services and our commitment to Australia, and accentuates the strategic importance of the country in our long-term plans.

He continued: “Stephen offers Emirates tremendous experience and knowledge in aviation and we are confident he is the right man to help us achieve our growth plans for Australia.  We look forward to a prosperous future with Stephen at the helm of our business and operations in Australia.”  

Stephen will join Emirates Airline in January 2007 and will operate out of his office in Sydney, while the rest of Emirates’ Australian headquarters will continue to remain in Melbourne.

Emirates offers double daily service from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth; and daily service from Brisbane to Dubai. The airline offers thrice daily services to Auckland – from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – and daily to Christchurch from Sydney. Emirates also offers double daily services to Singapore – daily each from Melbourne and Brisbane; and daily to Bangkok from Sydney.

Report by The Mole