- Experienced aviation and hospitality professional to lead customer experience and lifestyle growth across key regional markets
Cathay Pacific has announced the appointment of Abhijit Abhyankar as the Regional Head of Customer Travel and Lifestyle. In his new role, Abhijit will oversee customer travel experiences, passenger sales, marketing communications, and lifestyle marketing initiatives across India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa (SAMEA).
With a career spanning over two decades in aviation and hospitality, Abhijit brings deep expertise in sales, marketing, and customer engagement to this role. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Regional Head of People for SAMEA., including Head of Marketing and Digital Sales – SAMEA, Regional Marketing Communications Manager – South Asia, and Area Sales Manager – Northern India. He also held the position of Country Manager – Africa and the Indian Ocean, based in Johannesburg.
Abhijit began his career in the hospitality sector with Ambassador Hotel, Le Meridien, and Holiday Inn before transitioning to aviation with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and later Air France–KLM. He joined Cathay Pacific in 2009 as Corporate Sales Manager and has since played a pivotal role in strengthening the airline’s commercial and customer-facing strategy in the region.
Based in Cathay Pacific’s regional headquarters in Mumbai, Abhijit will lead the airline’s efforts to create seamless and enriching travel experiences for customers while building strategic partnerships in lifestyle, retail, and digital engagement.
