Jeff Livings from Britain has been appointed vice-president technical at Gulf Air.

 “Jeff is an airline engineering and maintenance veteran with a proven track record for airline maintenance,” says chief operating officer Björn Näf.

“He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in many areas including, line and heavy maintenance, supply chain and engineering and we believe these are just the right ingredients for our ongoing restructuring initiative.”

Livings, 47, joins Gulf Air from Virgin Atlantic, a major airline in the United Kingdom, where he served as the director of ground operations. His responsibilities included, accountability for all aircraft engineering and maintenance activities.

Previously he had also served there as director of engineering at the airline, where he worked for nearly two decades.

 “I was looking for new challenges in my area of work, preferably with wide scope of responsibilities in a world class airline and as Gulf Air is such a strong brand, I believe the airline will be the ideal platform to combine my knowledge, skills and experience to make a difference,” says Livings, who has a Masters in Business Administration from University of Brighton.

From 1988 to date, he served in various technical departments at Virgin Atlantic, moving up the ladder from a maintenance superintendent, to director of engineering to director of ground operations.

His duties included management responsibility of 1,400 staff and also being accountable for all aircraft engineering and maintenance activities.

He is a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (FRAeS) and  has also served as line maintenance supervisor for British Airways (1986-1988) and line maintenance foreman for Saudi Arabian Airlines (1983-1986).

The father of three children, Livings’ interest include, travel, rugby, walking, skiing and classic cars.

The regional, geographic and cultural values that the airline has embraced over more than half a century are still central to defining its brand and service ethos.

Today the airline’s network stretches from Europe to Asia and covers 47 cities in 30 countries. The fleet comprises 34 aircraft and has the distinct advantage of possessing the strongest network across the Middle East.

A platform for sustained commercial operation has been established over the past three years as part of a multi-phased turnaround programme. It has also provided a framework for a succession of innovative products and services including the unique Sky Chefs and Sky Nannies that form part of Gulf Air’s ’smart airline, successful business’ vision. TradeArabia News Service