The Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Mr. Toshihiro Nikai, Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan and Chairman of the Japan – Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance and Vietnamese government officials were in attendance.

The Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc expressed his appreciation for VNA’s efforts and remarkable achievements in the past 25 years (Cre: TTXVN).

Ever since the first VNA’ flight to Japan in 1994 connecting Osaka and Ho Chi Minh city, VNA has continuously expanded the network, upgraded the fleet and promoted economic and cultural ties between Vietnam and Japan. After 25 years, the total number of passengers transported by VNA reached 12.5 million in which VNA dominates the total passenger traffic between the two countries of nearly 60%.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc showed his appreciation for VNA’ efforts and remarkable achievements for a quarter of a century and long-lasting, robust developments in the strategic cooperation of Vietnam and Japan. For the past 25 years, the airline has maintained its status as a modern and safe airline that directly contributes to the relationship of the two countries. The Prime Minister believes that Vietnam will further boost multifaceted cooperation with Japan including aviation, in which VNA continues to play a vital role in deepening the relations of the two countries through its fleet, product, and service developments.

Mr. Toshihiro Nikai, Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan and Chairman of the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance congratulated the carrier on the 25-year operation of Vietnam – Japan route over the flourishing period of Vietnam-Japan relation. He expected to see more developments in the relations of Vietnam and Japan thanks to VNA’ active contribution.   

Duong Tri Thanh, President and CEO of Vietnam Airlines said that in order to bolster service quality, the company had made major investments in new routes and fleet expansion program (Cre: TTXVN).

Duong Tri Thanh, President, and CEO of VNA said: “Japan has emerged as one of the top 5 leading markets with the largest number of passengers to Vietnam and playing a substantial role in our long-term strategy. VNA has made major investments in new routes and fleet expansion program by operating the new-generation wide-body aircraft Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 on routes to Japan to bolster our service quality. We take great pride in what we are doing to further provide unparallel opportunities for promoting investment, trade, economic and cultural ties as well as the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan.”

The 25th anniversary of the Vietnam – Japan route of Vietnam Airlines were attended by The Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Mr. Toshihiro Nikai (Cre: TTXVN).

2016 marks an important milestone in the economic cooperation between the two countries when Japan’s largest airline group – ANA Holdings – acquired 8.7% share in VNA and became its foreign strategic investor. The two sides have actively implemented comprehensive cooperation in many areas such as trade (joint venture, frequent flyer program), ground and maintenance services, training… and therefore leveraging each other’s strengths to increase business performance and efficiency of both carriers. In 2019, Skytrax recently recognized VNA as 4-star Airline for the fourth year in a row, while ANA continues to be the only Japanese airline to hold the Skytrax 5-star title. As a result of the cooperation, VNA aims to embrace the growth potential and soon to become the first 5-star rated airline in Vietnam.

VNA currently runs 11 routes between Vietnam and Japan with an average of nearly 80 flights per week, connecting Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang with big cities in Japan including Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka. During 2020-2021 period, VNA will continue to put more wide-body aircraft to serve these routes and study on feasibility of new routes between Vietnam and Japan.