On July 21, Dragonair announced the appointment of James Tong as its Chief Executive Officer. Mr Tong will take up the post on August 17, succeeding Kenny Tang.

Prior to taking up this post, Mr Tong was General Manager Sales PRD & Hong Kong at Cathay Pacific Airways, responsible for managing the airline's passenger business in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region since April 2008.

Mr Tong says it is "an honour to head a world-class airline with a winning team" and says he is excited about taking up the post. "While the aviation industry is undoubtedly going through a tough time at the moment, I am confident that the strong foundation laid by the dedicated and professional Dragonair team will help us emerge stronger than ever when the upturn comes. I am very confident about the long-term prospects of Dragonair as part of the Cathay Pacific Group."

Mr Tong joined Cathay Pacific in July 1987 and has held a number of managerial positions within the commercial and operational departments in Hong Kong, Australia and Germany. He has worked for Dragonair previously, in the position of Regional Manager Northern China in Beijing from 1994 to 1996, and was also General Manager Commercial for all cargo-carrier Air Hong Kong from 2002 to 2004.

Mr Tong holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Photograph: Mr James Tong, Dragonair's new Chief Executive Officer (Designate).