Barcelona, February 7^th, 2024 - Volotea, the airline connecting small and mid-sized European cities, has appointed Cristina Xercavins, as Chief People Officer. In her new role, Xercavins will leverage her strategic vision and multifaceted understanding of the company to spearhead crucial projects aimed at talent development and retention and implement continuous improvement initiatives to oversee Volotea's growth.

With a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya de Terrassa and an international Master's Degree in Management from EADA, Xercavins began her professional career at airlines such as Vueling and Ryanair (Dublin), where she worked as an analyst in the Revenue Management department. Subsequently, she took on various roles within the Commercial division at Fastjet (London) and simultaneously shouldered the responsibility of project coordination across multiple departments. While doing so, she also engaged in several coaching programs, equipping herself with valuable tools for fostering positive interpersonal relationships and optimizing team efficiency and collaboration.

Xercavins joined Volotea in May 2017, starting as an Inventory Revenue Manager in the airline's Commercial department. Her primary challenge in this role was to redefine the pricing management strategy with the assistance of the Data Science team, aiming to provide the company with increasingly efficient and precise processes. Four years later, she assumed the role of Revenue Management Director, and in 2023, she embraced a new challenge within Volotea's People division as Deputy Chief People Officer. She succeeds Pedro Casaño, who is leaving the airline for personal reasons after a two-year tenure leading the People department.

"Cristina's appointment as Volotea’s new Chief People Officer exemplifies our commitment to nurturing and advancing internal talent within the organization," said Carlos Muñoz, Founder and CEO of Volotea. "Since joining Volotea, Cristina has played an integral role within the company. Her experience in the Commercial department and keen analytical vision have led her to achieve significant results that have facilitated Volotea's growth. With her strong leadership abilities, strategic insight, and genuine passion for people, I am confident that she will put these skills and knowledge to great use in her new role and significantly contribute to the growth of Volotea's talent and processes.”

Cristina Xercavins, Chief People Officer at Volotea, added: "Since joining Volotea, I have had the privilege to collaborate with colleagues from diverse departments, and I continue to be impressed daily by our team's exceptional talent and commitment. This was especially evident during my recent role as the company's Deputy Chief People Officer. I am excited to take on this new challenge, which offers another great opportunity to contribute to the company's growth."

ABOUT VOLOTEA

Volotea was founded in 2011 by Carlos Muñoz and Lázaro Ros, also previously founders of Vueling. It is one of the fastest-growing independent airlines in Europe in the last decade, increasing its fleet, routes served, and seats offered year-on-year. This year, the airline will celebrate a milestone of carrying 60 million passengers throughout its network.

Volotea reaches 110 airports and is based in 21 medium-sized European capitals: Asturias, Athens, Bari (new for 2024), Bilbao, Bordeaux, Brest (new for 2024), Cagliari, Florence, Hamburg, Lille, Lyon, Lourdes, Marseille, Nantes, Naples, Olbia, Palermo, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Venice, and Verona.

This year, Volotea will operate nearly 450 routes (with over half exclusive), offer between 12.5M and 13M seats (+12% to 16% versus 2023), and fly approximately 80,000 flights. The airline also plans to expand its fleet and will operate with up to 45 Airbus A319 and A320.

Volotea is working towards achieving a more sustainable future in aviation. The airline is set to achieve its target of reducing direct CO2 emissions per passenger-kilometer by 50% by 2025, five years ahead of the initial schedule. Furthermore, the airline has set a new and even more ambitious goal: to decrease emissions by 58% by 2030. To date, Volotea has launched over 50 sustainability initiatives that have already driven a reduction in carbon footprint per passenger and kilometer by more than 45%. Since 2022, the company has been working on developing emission-free alternative technologies, operating Airbus' internal shuttle service with 34% sustainable aviation fuel, and collaborating with manufacturers and the industry so that these fuels (now difficult to access) can be developed and become widespread as soon as possible. 

Volotea, with a projected workforce of 2,000 employees this year, actively boosts connectivity within the territories where it is based while contributing to their economic development and enriching the cultural landscape through impactful sponsorship projects.

Volotea was recognized by Skytrax in its global passenger satisfaction survey as the “Best Low-Cost Airline in Europe” at the 2023 World Airline Awards, referred to by media worldwide as “the Oscars of the aviation industry.” The airline adds this accolade to its growing list of achievements, which includes consecutive wins for "Leading European Low-Cost Airline" at the World Travel Awards in 2021 and 2022.

Contact

Volotea Press
For more information: https://www.volotea.com/en/press-room/ 
press@volotea.com
Tel: +34 93 117 17 77