First regular non-stop flight from U.S. lands in Viet Nam

The return flight coded VN999 transported 170 passengers, taking off from Francisco on Monday evening (local time) and landed in Da Nang after 15 hours and 35 minutes.

Earlier, a flight coded VN98 of the national flag carrier Viet Nam Airlines from Ho Chi Minh City landed safely at San Francisco Airport in the US on November 29, marking a mile stone in the development history of the Vietnamese aviation industry as well as the Vietnam Airlines. 

Initially, Viet Nam Airlines planned two flights per week from Ho Chi Minh City – the economic locomotive of Viet Nam – to San Francisco using wide-body aircraft Boeing 787 and Airbus A350.

The flight frequency will be increased to seven flights per week provided that the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control and the Government agrees to resume regular commercial flights.

In mid-November, Viet Nam Airlines received foreign air operation certificate issued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

In November last year, Bamboo Airways was licensed by the U.S. Department of Transportation to carry passengers and cargoes between Viet Nam and the U.S.

The airline is allowed to use wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to fly directly from Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City to international airports in the U.S., such as those in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The opening of the Viet Nam-U.S. direct routes are expected to tighten comprehensive ties between the two countries.

Viet Nam and the U.S. signed an air transport agreement in 2003 that allows airlines to operate direct flights between the two countries.

The air market between Viet Nam and the U.S. served for 1.4 million passengers in 2019 with an average growth rate of 8% in 2017-2019 period./.

By Kim Loan