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Vietnam Airlines partners with Delta to offer Vietnam-US flights
Thursday, August 15, 2019, 14:21 GMT+7

National carrier Vietnam Airlines has signed a codeshare agreement with Delta Air Lines - America’s second-largest carrier - to operate Vietnam-U.S. flights via Tokyo.

Vietnam Airlines will provide Vietnam-Tokyo flights while Delta will operate services between the Japanese capital and U.S. cities, according to the agreement.

The two airlines will conduct operational checks in September with Delta expected to begin selling tickets for flights between Hanoi and Tokyo, operated by Vietnam Airlines, from October this year.

This is an upgrade for Vietnam Airlines from a previous one-way agreement it signed with Delta in 2010.

Under that partnership, Delta Air Lines would operate flights between Vietnam and U.S. cities, with stops in either Tokyo, Japan or Frankfurt, Germany, while Vietnam Airlines only marketed and sold tickets for such flights.

In February, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration awarded Vietnam a “Category 1” (CAT-1) rating, a recognition that the country complies with international safety standards, making Vietnamese airlines eligible for operating direct flights to the U.S.

This rating upgrade also enables Vietnamese carriers to codeshare with American carriers.

Vietnam Airlines said in a statement on Wednesday the new codeshare agreement with Delta is the airline’s first step to explore air travel demands between Vietnam and the U.S. while having customers form the habit of flying to the U.S. on Vietnam Airlines-operated flights.

The national carrier has expressed a desire to operate direct flights to the U.S. soon.

There are currently no nonstop flights between Vietnam and the U.S., despite a large market catering to tourism and visits by friends and relatives.
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/business/20 ... 50986.html

September 6, 2019
Vietnam Airlines secures first license for direct US flights
(AFP) – Vietnam Airlines has become the first carrier in the country to secure a coveted license to fly direct to the United States, according to the airline and a regulatory filing seen by AFP.

The approval has for months been sought by Vietnamese carriers eager to exploit a fast-growing market for air travel among Vietnam’s booming middle class.

Domestic and regional air travel has mushroomed among Vietnamese travellers, and carriers are hoping the market will extend to US travel too.

Vietnam Airlines has been licensed to fly from Hanoi and the southern business hub Ho Chi Minh City to Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Seattle and Dallas, according to a regulatory filing from the US Department of Transportation obtained by AFP.

The carrier will also be able to connect to Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto in Canada, it said.

The terms, which came into effect on August 26, cover “air transportation of persons, property and mail” between the Vietnamese and North American cities.

It was not immediately clear if the flights would be non-stop or would transit through Taipei, Osaka and Nagoya, which were listed as approved intermediate hubs in the filing.

The national carrier confirmed the approval yesterday, calling it “an important move by Vietnam Airlines in preparing its plan to fly to the US in the coming time”.
It did not say when the first flight could take to the skies.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50640613/v ... s-flights/

Perhaps most interesting is that the Airbus press release specifically says that Vietnam Airlines will use these planes to begin nonstop flights to the US, starting with a flight between Ho Chi Minh City and Los Angeles. At 8,169 miles, the route is a bit shorter than the world’s current longest A350 route, operated by Singapore Airlines between Singapore and San Francisco (8,446 miles).
https://onemileatatime.com/vietnam-airlines-us-flights/