His appointment, announced at the 66th IATA Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit held last week in Berlin, secures his position on the board of the governors until 2012.

He will be joining thirty CEOs elected from three hundred airlines around the world including Mr. Glenn Tilton, President and CEO of United Airlines, Mr. Jean- Cyril Spinetta, Chairman of Air France and Mr. Chew Choon Seng CEO of Singapore Airlines.

In his capacity as a member of the board of governors, Mr. Majali will represent the interests of the Association and its member airlines, especially in the region.

The Board of Governors will be lead by IATA's new Chairman, FedEx Express President and CEO David Bronczek, who started a one-year term as the Chairman of the world body. Bronczek succeeds Tony Tyler, CEO of Cathay Pacific Airways, who served as Chairman from June 2009, a position held by Mr. Majali from June 2008 to June 2009.

Mr. Samer Majali, commented:

"It is a great honor to represent the airlines in the region and serve on the Board of Governors of IATA once again. Year 2009 and the first quarter of 2010 have been challenging periods for the aviation industry, reinforcing the need for tighter stakeholder collaboration to drive efficiencies and accelerate recovery. This can only be done through setting new standards across the global airline industry, a process that is actively driven by IATA."

"As a member of the governing board I will be working closely with the IATA representatives to address the challenges faced by the industry, through harnessing the collective knowledge and wisdom among other members of the Board, so that the global aviation community can benefit from it," concluded Mr. Majali.

IATA represents, leads and serves the global airline industry and over the past 60 years, has helped the global airline companies develop commercial standards, simplify processes and increase passenger convenience, while reducing costs and improving efficiency. Today IATA's members comprise 230 airlines representing 93% of scheduled international air traffic.