RwandAir appoints Bert van der Stege as new Commercial Director

Bert van der Stege is the new Commercial Director with RwandAir, he joined the organization in May. His responsibilities include overseeing Sales & Distribution, Network Management, Marketing, Pricing & Revenue Management, International Affairs as well as all Ground Services.

Bert’s career spans 13 years in the aviation industry, most of them at Lufthansa. Starting as a management trainee in 1999, he joined Lufthansa Consulting in 2001 where he worked in various projects in Africa and the Middle East. In 2004, Bert joined Lufthansa’s passenger division where he was responsible for the strategic development of the airline as well as alliances and joint-ventures in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. In 2007 Bert was appointed as Head of Sales & Marketing at Lufthansa’s frequent flyer programme Miles & More before he moved to Nigeria in 2010 to manage the commercial operations as a Vice President at Arik Air.

Announcing the appointment, RwandAir’s CEO, John Mirenge said: "On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am extremely pleased to welcome Bert to Rwanda. We are confident that his experience and expertise will enable the airline to reach even greater heights."

On his appointment Bert commented: "I am delighted to be taking up this role at RwandAir. I look forward to helping the company both prosper and grow, as well as playing a strong role in the development of Rwanda’s travel and tourism industry. It will be a pleasure to work with talented and committed staff of the company to build on our position and ensure that RwandAir is recognised as a leading regional airline.

RwandAir's fleet currently consists of four Boeing 737 aircraft and one Bombardier Dash turboprop. Two CRJ900 regional jets are on order from Bombardier, scheduled to arrive in October this year with an option of a further two in 2013. RwandAir also has two B787 on order and has confirmed an interest in the Bombardier Q400 for delivery from 2014 onwards.