(Photo: VNA).

This expanded codeshare comes after Vietnam’s civil aviation authority was granted category 1 status by the US Federation Aviation Administration (FAA) in February, allowing Vietnamese airlines to serve US destinations.

“A Category 1 rating means Vietnam’s civil aviation authority meets the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) standards for personnel licensing, operations, and airworthiness,” said the FAA.

Vietnam Airlines called this “a testament to the service quality and aviation safety provided by Vietnam Airlines in particular and Vietnamese airlines in general”.

Delta will review Vietnam Airlines’ flight operations system in September this year and once the US airline has determined that the Vietnamese flag carrier is up to operational standards, Delta will offer Vietnam Airlines tickets on the Hanoi-Tokyo route to passengers in need of connecting flights to the US.

In 2010, Vietnam Airlines forged a one-way codeshare agreement with Delta Air Lines on 10 international routes to/from the US and 10 domestic routes in the US. The agreement has enabled Vietnam Airlines passengers to fly to eight US states by transiting through Delta’s Tokyo (Japan) or Frankfurt (Germany) hubs.

In other words, passengers may purchase Delta tickets via Vietnam Airlines to fly between Tokyo and Detroit; Portland, Oregon; Honolulu; Atlanta; Seattle; Los Angeles; and Minneapolis; or between Frankfurt and Detroit; Atlanta; and New York.

(Photo: Delta).

Passengers may also purchase Delta tickets via Vietnam Airlines to fly domestic flights between Minneapolis and Boston, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, and St. Louis, as well as between Atlanta and Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, and Washington D.C.

The upgrade into a two-way partnership will allow passengers to book a codeshare flight and fulfil flight formalities only once for their entire journey through either Vietnam Airlines or Delta.

Passengers may also purchase Delta tickets via Vietnam Airlines to fly domestic flights from Minneapolis to Boston, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, and St Louis; as well as from Atlanta to Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, and Washington DC. Delta flies daily from Tokyo to Minneapolis and Atlanta.

The airline also added that in 2018, the size of the Vietnam-US market reached 757,000 arrivals, up 8% year-on-year.

In addition, last year, Vietnam Airlines and Delta Air Lines recorded 18,000 arrivals by virtue of their cooperation, primarily from the US to Vietnam.

Codeshares allow passengers to book an itinerary with different operating airlines under a single booking, travel with a single boarding pass collected at the departure airport and have their checked luggage delivered all the way to their final destinations.

Cre: Seher Asaf – Business Traveller

Nguyen Xuan Nghia – COMM