Etihad Aviation Group appoints Gavin Halliday as Hala Group MD

Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) announced the appointment of Gavin Halliday as Managing Director of Hala Group, its destination management and global loyalty unit.
At Hala, Halliday will lead EAG’s new global loyalty company which brings together Etihad Guest with the loyalty programmes of other EAG partner airlines. 
He will also have responsibility for EAG’s destination and conference management organisations, which are critical elements of the company’s plans to grow leisure and business travel to Abu Dhabi and the UAE.  
Halliday brings to his new role more than 30 years of experience at British Airways and other IAG business units. For the last three years, he has been Chief Executive Officer of Avios, IAG’s global loyalty programme. Previously, he held senior commercial positions at IAG, Iberia, British Midland and British Airways.
Mohamed Mubarak Fadhel Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the Board of the Etihad Aviation Group, said, “Hala is a critical element of Etihad’s strategy to leverage the combined reach and value of our airline partners. It also is an important platform for realising the full potential of Abu Dhabi and the UAE as a preferred destination for business and leisure travel. Gavin is an innovator and leader in the industry, we are excited to have him join EAG’s leadership team.
“We are particularly excited at the experience that Gavin will bring to our global loyalty marketing programme, for which we have big plans.”
“This is an incredible opportunity. Etihad Airways has been one of the fastest-growing airlines of the last decade and Hala is an engine for further expansion. I look forward to working closely with local travel companies and organisations to bring more business and vacation visitors to Abu Dhabi and the UAE,” Gavin Halliday added.  
Hala Group was established in 2016 to bring more focus to EAG’s portfolio of loyalty, travel and hospitality businesses. It includes Global Loyalty Company, Etihad Holidays, Hala Abu Dhabi, Hala Travel Management and the Amadeus Joint Venture.  
Halliday will start in his new role in early September 2017. 
He will replace Darren Peisley, who has been Acting Managing Director of Hala Group.  Al Mazrouei thanked Peisley for his contribution saying, “Darren has played a strong interim role at Hala, having founded and grown the Global Loyalty business into the profitable platform it is today with more than 20 million members, as well as previously leading executive portfolios in the commercial and business transformation areas over his seven years at Etihad Airways. We thank him for his contribution and wish him luck in his future ventures, as he returns to Australia.”