Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has appointed Frédéric Huynh Quan Dat as its new general manager for Vietnam.

He is based in Ho Chi Minh City, the commercial capital of Vietnam, to which the Abu Dhabi-based airline will commence daily Airbus A330-200 passenger and cargo flights in October.

Huynh has more than 13 years’ experience in the airline industry. He began his aviation career in 1999 as an analyst with Air France, based in New York.

Immediately prior to joining Etihad Airways, he was Air France KLM’s manager for International and Netherlands corporate policy.

He is has a master’s degree in the Science of Management from ICN Graduate School of Business in Nancy, France.

Etihad Airways chief commercial officer Peter Baumgartner said: “We are delighted to have an industry professional of Frédéric’s standing joining the airline in such an important role.

“His aviation experience, background, and familiarity with the UAE will be hugely beneficial to the airline – to establish our presence in Vietnam and to deliver a sustainably profitable operation over time.

“Ho Chi Minh City is Etihad Airways’ sixth online destination within the ASEAN region, joining Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, and Singapore, and one of the most exciting additions to the airline’s global network in 2013.

“The new Ho Chi Minh City service, in conjunction with our partner airlines, will extend Etihad Airways’ ASEAN network reach to a total of 21 destinations.

“We are confident the Vietnam route will become one of the airline’s top performers with Frédéric at the helm,” Baumgartner added. – TradeArabia News Service