Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has appointed John Evans as its new general manager for the Philippines. Evans has more than 35 years of experience in airline operations including senior management roles at Swissair and Gulf Air in the UK and Thailand. He has transferred to the Manila-based position from Cyprus, where he was Etihad Airways’ General Manager for the past year. John assumed his role on September 6, reporting to Lindsay White, Etihad Airways’ Vice-President for Asia Pacific South and Australasia. Etihad Airways commenced services to the Philippines in February 2006. Today, the airline operates 14 services a week to Manila with a mixed fleet of Boeing B777 and Airbus A330-200 aircraft configured in two classes — Pearl Business and Coral Economy. Gulf News