Middle Eastern carrier creates 160 jobs in Manchester
Tuesday, 25 Mar, 2011
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Etihad Airways is to employ 160 staff at a new contact centre in Manchester.
The airline has been seeking a UK-based hub to take calls in response to growing enquiries from non-Arab speaking markets.
It predicts that by next year more than half of the 2.5 million calls that its global call centres take a year will be non-Arabic.
The carrier is working with Manchester Airports Group to find a location for the centre which it foresees opening in 2012.
Etihad Airways chief executive officer James Hogan said: “As our network continues to grow, it is increasingly important for us to provide high quality, multilingual assistance for customers who choose to book directly with the airline.
“We looked closely at a range of potential locations in the United Kingdom and Europe, and undertook extensive research to find the location that offered us a population base with the right mix of languages and skill sets, as well as a high quality of telecommunications infrastructure.
“Manchester offered everything we needed, and had the added attraction of having strong, well-established business links with Abu Dhabi – a relationship we look forward to developing further.”
Chief executive of the Manchester Airports Group (MAG) Charlie Cornish said: “This announcement reinforces our belief that Manchester Airport has the facilities to support the growth of airlines like Etihad and alongside their new premium lounge in Terminal 1 and the increased capacity on the Abu Dhabi route, we are delighted to see them continuing their investment in the region. We believe that there are unrivalled opportunities on offer at the airport and we hope to see many more deals of this nature in the future.”
by Dinah Hatch
Dinah
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