Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) has appointed Joanna Wild as Chief Commercial Officer.

Highly experienced in the airport and retail sectors, delivering profit growth, commercial success and customer excellence, Wild joins LBA after working for Thomas Cook Airlines. At Thomas Cook, she held the role of Director Customer Services, before moving to Thomas Cook Group PLC as Managing Director for UK Retail.

Since 2015 she has worked as an independent consultant and held various non-executive board positions.

COMMERCIAL PRIORITIES

Reporting directly to Hywel Rees, Chief Executive Officer, Wild will focus on strategic commercial priorities for the airport including airline partnerships, commercial offering and passenger experience.

She said: “I am delighted to be joining Leeds Bradford at a very exciting time and look forward to working with the team. Delivering a successful aviation and commercial strategy is high on my agenda working closely with airline partners and travel retailers.”

Rees added:  “Joanna’s appointment is one of a number of measures we are putting in place to ensure our focus is always on delivering the strategic priorities for the airport, including growth in passenger numbers, route development across regional and international destinations and delivering a high-quality service experience.

“Leeds Bradford Airport is a major contributor to the local economy and Joanna will help us to work more closely with our key partners including airlines, government and the local business community.”

As reported, LBA is working on the construction of a  three-storey extension to the main terminal.

The expansion will introduce new retail and food & beverage options, enhanced departure gate facilities, an uprated arrivals hall and larger immigration and baggage reclaim areas.