20 Jul 2006

China Airlines launches Taipei-Hanoi cargo service

by MONG BINH and HONG HA

China Airlines has launched its cargo service between Taipei and Hanoi three years after Taiwan's largest airline started the simi­lar service in HCMC to meet the growing demand of cargo transport.

The airline's first cargo flight landed at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi yesterday.

The two weekly flights make China Air­lines the only Taiwanese carrier to provide such a service between Taipei and Vietnam's two major cities - Hanoi and HCMC.

Lee Ming Tee, general manager of China Airlines in Vietnam, said the airline would use Boeing 747-400 freighters for the cargo flights between Taipei and Hanoi on Wednesdays and Fridays, with each flight carrying 100 tons of cargo.

The new service will create a new gate way for the export of Vietnamese goods, especially to Europe and North America, and help attract more companies to come to build factories in Vietnam, said Lee.

"We believe that more investors will enter Vietnam if they find more convenient cargo services for their quicker exports, and Vietnam will have a more competitive environment."

Lee emphasized Vietnam was always the focus of China Airlines as this was a high-growth market.

China Airlines launched the passenger flights between Taipei and HCMC in 1992 and the cargo transport service on Thurs­days and Sundays in 2003. The airline added one more cargo flight between the two cities on Mondays last month.

The airline operates two passenger flights a day between HCMC and Taipei and has a core-share cooperation deal with Vietnam Airlines for flights from Hanoi and HCMC to Taipei and U.S. des­tinations.

China Airlines has gained achievements for its direct passenger flights on the Taipei-Hanoi route since the launch in July 2003.

The carrier increased its flight frequency from three flights a week to daily service since May 2004, using Boeing 737-800s.

China Airlines charges a return ticket from US$560 for flights between Hanoi

and Taipei, and from US$500 for HCMC-Taipei service.

China Airlines now has a fleet of 47 passenger aircraft and 19 freighters, and flies to 23 countries and territories.

SGT-HCMC, HANOI

18 Jul 2006

Vietnam Air gets PM nod to acquire more planes

By ANH MINH

Vietnam Air­lines has gained the blessing from the Prime Minister to expand its fleet by purchas­ing 15 more airplanes, com­prising five short-haul aircraft for local air routes and ten long-range ones, the Govern­ment Office said.

In a correspondence issued yesterday, the Governments Office sad the Prime Minister had agreed to changes to the previous acquisition plan by Vietnam Airlines so that the national flag air carrier can meet the increasing travel demand.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in a meeting with leaders of Vietnam Airlines over the weekend gave the go-ahead, allowing the carrier to prepare a project to buy five more ATR-72s for local services.

These small-capacity planes will make it possible for Vietnam Airlines to in­crease frequency on local ser­vices and to open more air routes to Quang Binh, Phu Quoc, Ca Mau and Can Tho.

Alongside negotiations to buy five more ATR- 72s, Viet­nam Airlines is also allowed to start talks with other part­ners able to supply similar air­craft to prepare for the worse scenario when talks to pur­chase ATR-72s fail, the Gov­ernment Office said.

PM Dung also urged Viet­nam Airlines to open direct flights to the United States as soon as possible, probably late 2007 but late this year all the better. To prepare for this pan-Pacific service scheme, the Prime Minister allowed Viet­nam Airlines to prepare a project to buy ten more Boeing B-787s or Airbus A350s of similar capacity.

In the short term, Vietnam Airlines will use Boeing B-777s to serve the Vietnam-U.S. airlink, or it can lease B777-200ERs for the service.

Under its current acquisition plan, Vietnam Airlines will purchase ten Airbus A 321s and four Boeing B-787s. PM Dung asked the air carrier to proceed with this plan so as to soon realize its expansion scheme.

Vietnam Airlines currently operates 39 airplanes, many of which are leased.

The carrier has recently seen its image blurred due to irregu­larities over the acquisition of engines for its long-range air­planes as well as the funding for overseas studies by chil­dren of the carrier's officials.

The Government leader at the meeting with Vietnam Airlines therefore also asked management to give the full­est accounts on such irregu­larities to competent authori­ties and to provide sufficient information to the media so as to "stabilize business op­erations."

SGT-HANOI

11 Jul 2006

CITE, Vietnam Airlines to promote food in Germany

By MINH DUY

HCMC – based Center of Incentive Tours & Events (CITE) will combine with Vietnam Air­lines to organize a Vietnam food promotion program in Germany's Frankfurt from September 22 to October 1 to promote the country's image there, CITE's director said.

Director of the center Le Hoang Yen told the Daily yesterday that during the 10 days the Vietnamese organiz­ers would co-ordinate with a German hotelier to organize a cooking show for the public, a gala dinner for agencies, and a week-long Vietnamese buf­fet program in a hotel there.

The center will send five chefs to Germany for the program.

Yen sees the program not only important for promoting the country's image but also to promote CITE as the pro­fessional MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Events) center.

"Formerly, we just orga­nized this kind of tours for inbound tourists.

Now, we want to organize tours at home and abroad for more local companies and tour­ists," she said.

Last month, CITE intro­duced a new exhibition sup­port service to help local com­panies to join fairs in foreign countries and find partners.

In addition, it will assist for­eign companies to meet with counterparts in Vietnam.

SCT – HCMC

10 Jul 2006

Singapore Airlines discounts online airfares

By MONG BINH

Singapore Airlines will offer special dis­counts for its weekly flights from Vietnam to the island country in August and Sep­tember if passengers make online bookings from today.

Singapore Airlines in HCMC confirmed with the Daily over the weekend that the economy class return air­fares for the flights to Singapore would cost only US$ 108 per passenger travel­ling from HCMC and US$ 158 from Hanoi.

Passengers will enjoy the special fares when they book via www.singaporeair. com.vn from today till July 23 for a minimum of two people travelling together between August 1 and September 30.

The new airfares do not in­clude airport taxes, insurance charges and fuel surcharges. Previously, Singapore Air­lines charged promotional re­turn airfares from US$220per person for the flights from HCMC and from US$260 for the flights from Hanoi.

SGT-HCMC

04 Jul 2006

Aeroflot restarts Hanoi-Moscow service

By MONG BINH

Russian interna­tional airline Aeroflot resumed direct flights between Hanoi and Moscow yesterday after an 11 -month break, according to a source from the airline in Hanoi.

The source told the Daily that the carrier would operate Boeing 767s for its flights from Moscow to Hanoi on Mondays and Thursdays and the return flights on Mondays and Fridays.

The weekly service to Hanoi departs Russia's capital at 8:10 a.m. on Mondays and 11:45 p.m. on Thursdays, while the return service leaves Hanoi at 10:25 p.m. on Mondays and at 2:35 p.m. on Fridays.

The flight takes about nine and a half hours. Return tickets cost from US$ 450 to more than US$ 1, 850 for the Hanoi-Moscow flight, and from US$520 to US$2,000 for the return flight.

Aeroflot had planned to stop the flights between the two capitals for one month from August last year to reshuffle its aircraft fleet but ended up putting the service on hold for almost one year.

Aeroflot is the largest interna­tional airline in Russia with a fleet of more than 80 airplanes.

SGT-HCMC