Good day, Dung! Please tell us about your earliest experience after joining the Youth Union.
After joining the Youth Union, I remember attending a training course where I was given opportunities to meet senior members of the Youth Union–whose energy was off the chart–and there I had the chance to learn a great deal about the Youth Union itself.
Who was your first mentor at VNA? How did he/she support you, or what impression do you have of him/her?
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen from the Flight Management Team, Passenger Commercial Service, was my first mentor at VNA. During my first month, Hien was the one who taught me every single Sabre command (VNA’s seat reservation system), and I have become a Sabre professional ever since (smile).
How did you feel being appointed as the Secretary of the Southern Branch Youth Union?
When I was appointed as the Secretary of the Southern Branch Youth Union, I felt proud and nervous at the same time.
As the Secretary of the Southern Branch Youth Union, what do you identify as vital aspects helping you to carry out youth activities as well as the business activities of the Southern Branch?
I believe it is important never to stop learning and bettering myself; to maintain a balance between my professional work and Youth Union work; to encourage all members of the Youth Union to be innovative; to combine Youth activities with business operations and initiatives for optimal business performance.
Dung attended the inauguration ceremony of the Southern Flight Dispatch Center (Photo: Minh Dung).
What is your job description, and how do you maintain a balance between your professional work and Youth Union work?
I am a salesman and agent manager under the Passenger Commercial Service. My job description is to support 15 official ticket agents based in HCMC in terms of ticket sales and sales operations, to cascade sales programs and policies to our agents, to develop a good relationship between VNA and our agents, and most importantly, to encourage our agents to sell as many tickets as possible to meet our predefined business targets.
To be honest, the Executive Committee of the Southern Branch Youth Union and I have been very much supported by the leadership board and department leaders. Therefore, it is easy for me to maintain a balance.
What do you find is the most important thing for youths working in the aviation industry?
What I find is the most important to young people in general and young people working in the aviation industry, in particular, is the willingness to learn and better ourselves, in order to satisfy the increasingly demanding domestic and global aviation markets.
How do you feel seeing VNA growing stronger and stronger? Could you please talk about one of its milestones?
As a member of the VNA family, I am incredibly proud of its growth. That VNA was recognized as a four-star airline for the fourth consecutive year by Skytrax was a pride-worthy milestone for VNA and the Vietnamese aviation industry as a whole.
What activities have the Southern Branch Youth Union had recently?
It has been challenging to organize Youth activities due to the more demanding nature of our professional work and the aging of our membership. However, the Southern Branch Youth Union has closely followed the agenda of the Group Youth Union and Tan Son Nhat Regional Council. We have done a good job of extending care to children of the Southern Branch’s employees. Children’s Day and Mid-autumn Festival activities are revamped on an annual basis, bringing laughter and satisfaction to parents.
The Southern Branch Youth Union held Mid-autumn Celebration Night for employees’ children (Photo: Minh Dung).
Youth Union activities are said to be pro forma and lacking in creativity. What do you think?
Only those involved in Youth Union activities can truly understand our current challenges. We lead the Youth Union activities entirely on a part-time and voluntary basis. Due to increasing workload, aging of our membership, nature of their job responsibilities, and geographical barriers (two affiliated sub-branches, VCA and PQC, and non-headquarter-based ticket offices), it is difficult for our members to participate in youth activities.
As a member of the Group Youth Union’s Executive Board, I think that Group-wide youth activities have changed for the better and become more innovative in recent years.
If you had to choose three words to describe yourself, what would you choose, and why?
Cheerfulness, as I am always cheerful to everyone.
Enthusiasm, as I always try my hardest in whatever I do.
And a willingness to learn, as I never stop learning and bettering myself.
The Southern Branch Youth Union and Dung participated in charity work. (Photo: Minh Dung).
May I go off the track a bit and ask about your typical day.
My typical day starts at 6 am. I arrive at my office at 8 am after taking my children to school. In the morning, I support our agents remotely in terms of seat requests and competitive Adhoc quotations to win customers from our direct competitors. In the afternoon, I pay a visit to our agents and keep their directors and bookers updated on our latest sales policies—in order to report to and advise VNA on what revisions or new policies to issue in line with the market context. After work, I pick up my children and spend time with my family. My typical day ends at 10 pm. (smile)
VNA is striving to become a five-star airline in 2021. What do you think you can do to contribute to upgrading VNA’s service?
I will continue to excel at what I am doing, update my knowledge, and apply 4.0 technologies, in order to improve productivity and upgrade VNA’s service to that of a five-star standard.
Thank you very much!
Nguyen Xuan Nghia – COMM
