Virgin Atlantic has appointed David Geer as its new managing director of cargo.

Geer succeeds John Lloyd, who has led the cargo division since 2000 and steps down in August 2017 after 30 years at the airline.

“John is certainly going to be a hard act to follow but this is an exciting new challenge and I am really looking forward to working with our cargo team and getting to know our customers,” said Geer. “Virgin Atlantic Cargo has a great reputation for its service levels, strong customer relationships and winning mentality, and the business has a very important role to play in the continued growth of the airline.”

Geer joined Virgin Atlantic in April 2012 as head of strategy and development at Virgin Holidays. Before being appointed interim managing director of Virgin Holidays in February 2017, he was most recently commercial, product and business development director. He previously worked as a manager at L.E.K Consulting for six years.

“Cargo is an extremely important and vibrant part of our business and it makes a significant contribution to the overall success of the airline,” said Phil Maher, executive vice president of operations at Virgin Atlantic. “John has been a great leader of Virgin Atlantic Cargo and has helped us to consistently punch above our weight in the cargo market. With his own proven track record within the Virgin organization, David also understands our passion for customer service and I am confident he will continue to take the business forward with the support of our outstanding cargo team.”

Virgin Atlantic, which carried over 218,000 tonnes of cargo in 2016, currently operates a fleet of 39 aircraft, consisting of 10 Airbus A330-300s, seven A340-600s, eight Boeing 747-400s and 14 787-9s, and also has 12 A350-1000s arriving in early 2019.