Air France and Vietnam Airlines sign code-share agreement
HANOI : Air France and Vietnam Airlines signed a code-share agreement on flights between Paris and Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. From March 28, the two companies will jointly offer 11 weekly non-stop round-trip services between France and Vietnam. Each airline will have a quota of seats on all flights. Another weekly flight will be added from June 27, 2004.
"This agreement will mark a great leap forward in the close cooperation between our two airlines, bring benefit for both passengers and the two airlines," said Pham Ngoc Minh, commercial executive vice-president of Vietnam Airlines during a press conference in Hanoi.
Dominique Patry, Air France's vice president for international affairs and alliances, also expressed satisfaction. "By rationalizing air services between our two countries, this agreement will enable us to provide our customers with optimum services by doubling the number of frequencies and offering only non-stop flights", he said.
The six weekly Vietnam Airlines services will be operated by Boeing 777-200s, while the five Air France flights will be use Airbus A340-300s.The companies said they will also consider the possibility of offering code-share flights on Air France's European and North America networks and on Vietnam Airlines' Asia routes.
Vietnam Airlines, considered one of the best of the communist-ruled country's vastly inefficient state-owned enterprises, began its non-stop service from Hanoi to Paris last June as a part of its strategy on the European market. The flag carrier also opened in January a twice-weekly service to Frankfurt.
It flies to 25 international destinations and announced last month plans to double its fleet by 2010 to establish itself as a major player in the regional aviation industry.
Air France serves 198 destinations in 83 countries and is the only European airline to operate scheduled services to Vietnam.
Agence France Presse - February 20, 2004
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