Ex- South African Airways general manager for commercial Manoj Papa joins Air Seychelles as CEO, March 1, according to a statement from the national carrier. He replaces Cramer Ball who resigned this morning.

Papa worked at Etihad Airways as vice president for corporate strategy before joining South African Airways. The South African national started his career at SAA where he also held the post of regional general manager for Asia and Australasia.

In January 2012, Air Seychelles signed a strategic partnership agreement with the national Airline of the UAE, Etihad Airways, where Etihad acquired a 40 percent stake in Air Seychelles.

The Seychelles national airline recently introduced new Airbus 330-200 aircrafts and achieved a profit of $ 1 million in 2013, the first year of profitability after several years of losses. Air Seychelles was named a 4-Star Airline by Skytrax at the beginning of January 2014.

Established in 1978, Air Seychelles flies from Mahé island to Abu Dhabi, Johannesburg, Hong Kong and Mauritius.