United to offer San Francisco-Vietnam flights, pending final OK
CHICAGO - United Airlines said Thursday it plans to begin daily flights to Ho Chi Minh City in December, making it the first U.S. commercial carrier to serve Vietnam in decades.
The route, which still needs final approval from the Vietnamese government, will connect from San Francisco through Hong Kong.
The first flight is to arrive in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) on Dec. 10. Daily flights from Vietnam to San Francisco will start the following day.
The service is a boost for United, which is counting on its dominant network of routes between the United States and Asia to generate strong business as it restructures in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Commercial relations between Vietnam and the United States have broadened since a bilateral trade agreement took effect in December 2001, but negotiators had been unable to agree on air travel.
More than 1 million Vietnamese reside in the United States, many of whom fled Vietnam after communists defeated the U.S.-backed government of South Vietnam in 1975. Many overseas Vietnamese have begun traveling back to their homeland.
"We are very excited by this historic opportunity to be the first U.S. carrier to provide direct service to Vietnam in almost 30 years," United chairman and chief executive Glenn Tilton said.
Vietnam has said the American market accounts for 10 percent of its aviation business, and the percentage would likely increase with direct flights making travel quicker and more convenient.
"This should further increase trade, tourism and cultural relations between our two peoples," said Raymond Burghardt, the U.S. ambassador to Vietnam.
The Associated Press - July 23, 2004.
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