Vietnam Airline increases Asia flights
Vietnam Airlines is planning to resume international services to major destinations in Asia and Europe during July according to the latest timetable updates.
While the timetables are not set in stone, the announced flight resumptions indicate Vietnam’s national airline is now confident it can generate enough bookings from repatriation passengers and those engaged in essential travel. Most of the destinations require arriving passengers to be tested and possibly undergo a 14-day quarantine.
The update reported by Airlineroute indicates the airline plans to fly a daily service to Bangkok from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City using an Airbus A350 even though the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand could still extend the ban on international flights beyond the cut off date 30 June.
It remains possible that the CAAT could extend the ban on international flights serving Thai airports until the end of July as the country favours a cautious approach to reduce the chances of a second a wave of infections.
Four weekly flights are planned from Hanoi to Busan in South Korea using an Airbus A321 and a daily Boeing 787 service to Seoul Incheon.
Also from the Vietnamese capital services will start to Guangzhou (six weekly) Shanghai Pu Dong (six weekly) and Hong Kong four weekly. All three routes will fly the A321.
Two destinations in Europe will be served out of Hanoi. Paris gets a weekly flight using an A350 and Frankfurt a single flight weekly using a Boeing 787.
The Hanoi – Kuala Lumpur route will be served by three weekly flights while Singapore gets four weekly services. Four weekly A321 flights will serve Taipei Taoyuan.
The Hanoi – Vientiane – Phnom Penh – Ho Chi Minh City route will get four weekly flights.
Out of the Ho Chi Minh City, the following flights are scheduled but will still require reconfirmation:
Bangkok daily A350
Busan three weekly A321
Guangzhou six weekly A321
Hong Kong three weekly A321
Kuala Lumpur daily A321
Seoul daily 787
Shanghai Pu Dong six weekly A321
Singapore daily A350
Taipei Taoyuan three weekly A321
Yangon four weekly A321.
The launch of a service from Ho Chi Minh City to Beijing Daxing that was scheduled for July 2020 has been postponed to August 2020.
Meanwhile, a reliable source close to Thai Airways International on Tuesday said the airline would now target a resumption of services in September deploying nine planes on regional routes followed by another 20 aircraft to be used to launch services in October. Full international services are not likely until December.
Earlier the airline said it would resume international flights in July and then following a review opted for a relaunch in August. But that statement was issued before the airline gained the protection of Thailand’s bankruptcy court to initiate a comprehensive restructuring plan. It has since re-evaluated the proposed reintroduction of international flight opting for a relaunch in September.
TTR Weekly – June 11, 2020