Royal Jordanian rehires veteran CEO Samer Majali as chief

Royal Jordanian Airlines named Samer Majali as its CEO, bringing back an industry veteran who ran the carrier more than a decade ago. Majali, who is 63 and holds dual British and Jordanian citizenship, was appointed CEO and vice chairman as of March 30, the Amman-based company said Wednesday. Like carriers worldwide, Royal Jordanian has been hammered by lockdowns and travel curbs triggered by coronavirus crisis, posting a loss of 107m dinars ($151m) in the first nine months of 2020. Former CEO Stefan Pichler, who once ran Air Berlin, resigned at the end of September after three years in the post that saw him revive earnings prior to the pandemic. Majali last led Royal Jordanian between 2001 and 2009 after more than 10 years there in other roles. His tenure saw the airline become the first in the Middle East to join a global alliance after enlisting with Oneworld.<br/>