Vietnam Airlines opens three more int'l air routes
Ha Noi, June 27 (VNA) -- Since early this year, Viet Nam Airlines has opened three more direct international air routes linking Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) to Tokyo, Ha Noi to Tokyo, and HCMC/Ha Noi to Moscow.
Viet Nam Airlines' new Ha Noi-Tokyo route will be officially inaugurated at the Noi Bai International Airport on June 29.
Initially, Viet Nam Airlines will operate two flights a week (Tuesday and Saturday), using Boeing 767B's, the airlines said, adding that this will be the second direct link between Viet Nam and Japan after the first between HCMC and Tokyo opened in late April of 2002.
In addition, Japan Airlines (JAL) will operate twice a week on every Monday and Friday on the Ha Noi-Tokyo route. These four flights will be jointly conducted by the two airlines through their code-sharing contract.
The number of visitors coming to Viet Nam from Japan has increased by about 30 percent a year in the recent past. In the first five months of this year, Viet Nam Airlines transported nearly 70,000 passengers with an occupancy rate of 85 percent on the Viet Nam-Japan air routes.
As from November of 2002, Viet Nam Airlines will conduct three flights per week on the Ha Noi-Tokyo link, between 6-7 flights per week on the HCMC-Tokyo route and between 4-5 flights per week on the HCMC-Osaka link.
Viet Nam Airlines also plans to use Boeing 777's on these air routes by the end of next year, according to sources from the airlines.
On July 2, it will resume its regular operation of the service between Ha Noi/HCMC and Moscow, with one flight per week at the initial stage carried out by Boeing 767-300B's.
The Ha Noi-Moscow direct link was opened by Viet Nam Airlines in 1993. However, it has been suspended since May of 1999 as a result of the regional financial crisis in late 1997.--Enditem
