Vietnam Airlines aims high

On 9 December 2011 Vietnam was linked for the first time by air to the UK.  Vietnam Airways, the National carrier, now flies from Gatwick on two days per week to both Ho Chi Min City (Saigon SGN) and Hanoi (HAN). 

“If we are successful in expanding the network and strengthening our position, we’ll be number two after Singapore Airlines,” Chief Executive Officer Pham Ngoc Minh told a small international media group in Hanoi last week.  On order are Airbus A321s and A350s, plus Boeing 787s.  With an 11% passenger increase last year the state-owned carrier is outpacing Malaysian Air (5%) and Thai International whose numbers dropped by 0.7%.  With around 14m travellers (official figures not published yet) it has overtaken Malaysian (13m) and is closing in on both Singapore (16.9m) and Thai (18.4m) although in the airline business numbers by themselves mean little.

Mr Minh said it was early days for Gatwick with the route now operating at 60%.  The airline’s London, Victoria, office expects an 80% load factor for the peak mid-summer period with between 60/70% originating from the UK.  Very competitive fares to Sydney and Melbourne are a feature with a 48-hour visa-free stopover allowed. www.vietnamair.com.vn

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