Vietnam Airlines’ long-awaited direct air service to the United Kingdom will hopefully commence this fall as a result of recent successful discussions among officials from the UK Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Department of Vietnam.
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| Passengers wait for their boarding time at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. |
The British embassy in Hanoi has high expectations about non-stop flights between Vietnam’s two largest cities, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, and London, with about four weekly flights planned for the initial period, after the officials concluded their discussions to revise an adjusted aviation pact signed by the two countries about 10 years ago.
Frequency increase between Vietnam and the UK was also part of the discussions, which wrapped up last Friday in Hanoi and also attracted representatives from the British Embassy, British Airways and Vietnam Airlines.
The British embassy said in a statement that discussions were to facilitate direct bilateral air services between the UK and Vietnam with the aim to have services starting in autumn this year, as well as develop stronger links after the two sides signed a bilateral strategic partnership agreement in September last year.
Therefore, direct flights are a significant step toward achieving that goal as they will help create increased bilateral trade, easier access for Vietnamese students to British educational institutions and promote cultural links ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Vietnam Airlines’ chief executive officer Pham Ngoc Minh did not confirm whether the national flag air carrier would start the direct service in autumn or by the end of this year. Minh told said that the launch of the Vietnam-UK services would be decided soon after relevant issues had been weighed carefully.
British Ambassador to Vietnam Antony Stokes said in the statement that confirmed frequency and timings of the new route should come out soon. Stokes said he was looking forward to the anticipated launch of services in the autumn as this was a good opportunity for both
\\countries ahead of events such as the London 2012 Olympic Games.
According to the British embassy, Vietnam Airlines is considering operating up to four services a week to London, with its plan for two times from each of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. On top of that, UK airlines are also actively thinking about services between the two countries.
On April 19, Vietnam Airlines and the Vietnamese embassy in the UK co-organised a conference in London, where Minh talked about the airline’s plan to fly direct from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to London by the end of this year.
Minh told the event that the UK had become one of the most important trading partners in the European Union with Vietnam and that nearly 90,000 English tourists came to Vietnam last year, up 28% year-on-year.
Moreover, the conference heard about 40,000 Vietnamese were living and working in England and about 7,000 Vietnamese students were studying in that country.
Vietnam Airlines plans to initiate four flights a week from Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai airports to London and raise the frequency to seven by 2014, using the Boeing B777-200ER aircraft.
