Star Air Appoints Shilpa Bhatia as Chief Commercial & Marketing Officer

Mumbai, Mar 6 (PTI) Star Air on Thursday said it has onboarded Shilpa Bhatia as its Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer (CCMO) from March 1 as the regional airline works on expanding its network as well as set up an aircraft MRO facility in the country.

With her proven track record of strategic leadership and industry expertise, Bhatia is well-positioned to steer Star Air's commercial and marketing functions into its next phase of growth, the company said in a statement.

Prior to moving to Star Air, Bhatia served as the Chief Sales and Revenue Officer as well as the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at SpiceJet.

Among other roles, she had worked as the Chief Sales and Revenue Officer at IndiGo and had stints at erstwhile Sahara Airlines, Bangladesh's GMG Airlines and at Amadeus.

The appointment also comes at a time when the Bangalore-headquartered aviation venture of the diversified Sanjay Ghodawat Group is expanding its operations.

Last month, the airline announced that it was aiming to operate 14 aircraft and expand its network to include over 100 flights across 23 stations by the end of this financial year.

Currently, Star Air operates a fleet of 9 Embraer aircraft, offering 44 daily flights to 22 domestic destinations.

The airline's CEO Simran Singh Tiwana said Bhatia's vast experience and deep understanding of the aviation sector will be invaluable as it embarks on the next phase of the growth journey.