SOUTH African Airways    (SAA) has appointed Ms. Thobekile Duma as the new Country Manager, Nigeria. Not to be mistaken as a move to further position the airline as a gender friendly organization, this appointment is a result of an extensive search internally and externally to find the best person for the job.

Until this appointment by SAA, it is important to note that no woman had been appointed by any of the foreign owned airlines operating in Nigeria, thus making Thobi, as she is popularly known, the first lady privileged to achieve such a feat.

With this move, Thobi; a South African thus replaces the airline”s former Country Manager, Ohis Ehimiaghe, and a Nigerian who has since been transferred to Angola to function in the same capacity.

The new appointee, with a wide range of experience in the airline and hospitality industry has since resumed duties at SAA’s Lagos office with a three-pronged agenda to maintain the airline”s reputation as Africa’s leader in the aviation industry.

She listed her plans for SAA in Nigeria to include, ““understanding and meeting the unique needs/requirements of our (SAA”s) customers”; improve service delivery and product offerings and introduction of systems that will make dealing with South African Airways seamless and effortless.””

The new Country Manager, who began her career in 1996, had worked for various organisations in the travel and hospitality industry in South Africa before joining South African Airways in 2003.

Since joining SAA Duma has been involved in a series of capacity building workshops and training. She has also helped shape the airline”s operations in a number of routes on the African continent.

Some of her achievements since joining SAA include her nomination for the airline”s female manager”s programme called “Women in Aviation,” an initiative designed to equip female employees of SAA to become future leaders who would lead the carrier to greater heights.

Duma was nominated in 2006 by the airline”s management to join the newly found “Africa Team (fondly known as the A team). Barely a year later, in 2007 she was deployed to Mozambique, where she facilitated the establishment of an SAA office in Maputo and also built a strong team that continues to ensure the growth of the airline”s business in the country.
Prior to her posting to Nigeria, Duma was the leader of the SAA project team which opened the Johannesburg-Gaborone, Botswana route in March this year.