The next-level cooperation between the two airlines is a new step forward in the history of bilateral aviation since the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) was granted the CAT1 certification by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which was a testament to the service quality and aviation safety provided by VNA in particular and Vietnamese airlines in general.

The two carriers are scheduled to review the flight operations system in September 2019. Once ascertained that VNA is up to operational standard, Delta Air Lines shall offer VNA tickets on the Hanoi-Tokyo route to passengers in need of connecting flights to the US. It is the first move that VNA has made into the US market, in order to form a habit of flying VNA to the US among passengers.

VNA and Delta Air Lines have signed a two-way codeshare agreement to expand their cooperation starting as of October 2019 (Cre: MSD).

In 2010, VNA 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 VNA passengers to fly to 8 US states by transiting through Delta’s Tokyo (Japan) or Frankfurt (Germany) hubs.

In other words, passengers may purchase Delta tickets via VNA to fly between Tokyo and Detroit (Michigan), Portland (Oregon), Honolulu (Hawaii), Atlanta (Georgia), Seattle (Washington), Los Angeles (California), and Minneapolis (Minnesota) or between Frankfurt and Detroit (Michigan), Atlanta (Georgia), and New York.

Passengers may also purchase Delta tickets via VNA to fly domestic flights between Minneapolis (Minnesota) and Boston (Massachusetts), Chicago (Illinois), Denver (Colorado), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), and St. Louis (Missouri), as well as between Atlanta (Georgia) and Austin, Dallas, Houston (Texas), Miami (Florida), and Washington D.C (Columbia).

The upgrade into a two-way partnership allows passengers to book a codeshare flight and fulfill flight formalities only once for their entire journey through either VNA or Delta Air Lines, thereby facilitating their visits to popular destinations in both countries.

In 2018, the size of the Vietnam – US market reached 757,000 arrivals, up 8% year over year. Globally, there has not been any carrier that operates direct flights between Vietnam and the US. Yet, passengers flying on this route now get to enjoy a diverse product portfolio offered by such aviation partnerships as one between VNA and Delta Air Lines.

Last year, VNA and Delta Air Lines recorded 18,000 arrivals by virtue of their cooperation, primarily from the US to Vietnam. It is a prerequisite for VNA to expand its product offering to connect Vietnam and the US, promoting tourism and cultural exchanges, on its journey to become a five-star airline.

Nguyen Mai Huong-COMM