Vietnam & Pacific Airlines to start Hanoi-Moscow service
HANOI - Vietnam Airlines will cooperate with Pacific Airlines to
conduct flights on the Hanoi-Moscow route from January 20, Nguyen Xuan Hien,
General Director of the national flag carrier, told Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper.
There will be eight flights a month in January and February to serve rising demands
during Vietnam's Lunar New Year Festival, which falls on February 12 this year. After
February, there will be one flight a week on the route. Either Airbus A 300-600 or
Boeing 767's will be used on the route, Hien added.
He went on to say that Vietnam Airlines plans to provide services on the Hanoi-Ho
Chi Minh City-Shanghai route. The corporation will also offer direct flights from Hanoi
and Ho Chi Minh City to Tokyo and from Hanoi to Paris in the near future. It also
plans to increase the frequency of flights to Bangkok and to Japan (14 flights a week)
as well as on the trans-Indochina route, linking Ho Chi Minh City, Vientiane, Phnom
Penh and Hanoi.
Vietnam Airlines has set a target of carrying 3.53 million passengers and 48,660
tonnes of cargo in 2002, the General Director noted.
Also this year, insurance fees paid by the corporation are estimated to increase by
US$10 million compared as to last year.
Asked about the cancellation situation and suspension situation of Vietnam Airlines'
flights over the past year, Hien noted that the cancellation and suspension rate dropped
to around 14 per cent in the first 11 months of last year from more than 20 per cent
one year earlier. The corporation will purchase new aircraft as well as improve its
maintenance services to reduce the current rate by 20 per cent in the future, the
Director General pledged.
On Vietnam Airlines' performance in 2001, Hien said the Sept. 11 event in New York
adversely affected its operation, which was stable and smooth from the beginning of
the year to September.
Vietnam Airlines registered a passenger transportation growth rate of 17.6 per cent
during the year ending September, the General Director said. In the wake of the Sept.
11 event, Vietnam Airlines suffered a 20 per cent drop in passenger transportation.
The event has also made the airlines pay higher fees to insurance companies who
claimed high risks. Subsequently, Vietnam Airlines had to pay an additional VND 30
billion (US$2 million) to its insurers, Hien further said.
The corporation conducted 32,474 safe flights in 2001, transporting 3.92 million
passengers and more than 50,000 tonnes of cargo, with a seat occupancy rate of 73.4
per cent. It obtained a total revenue of VND 9,895 billion (US$660 million) in 2001,
up 19.2 per cent compared to the previous year, and remitted to the State budget
VND 532 billion (US$35.5 million) or 37 per cent higher than the annual target.
Vietnam News Agency - January 04, 2002.
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