The resumption of the Vietnam Airlines-Air France joint venture agreement, according to Hoang, will provide passengers with additional flying alternatives and optimize products and services between France, Europe, and Vietnam.
The two national airlines formed a joint venture in 2017, but flights were discontinued in 2020 due to the pandemic’s impact.
The collaboration between the two airlines will resume on March 26, reinforcing the connectivity between the two companies’ respective transshipment centers: Noi Bai (Hanoi), Tan Son Nhat (HCMC), and Charles de Gaulle (Paris), one of the world’s largest gateways.
Accordingly, Air France will run a joint venture on Vietnam Airlines’ Hanoi-Paris flights, with a schedule of six flights per week from Hanoi to Paris and six flights per week from Paris to Hanoi using new wide-body Airbus A350s.
In a joint venture with Air France, Vietnam Airlines will run flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Paris with flight numbers AF258 from Paris to Ho Chi Minh City and AF253 from Ho Chi Minh City to Paris.
Since the first direct flight to Paris in 2003, France has been one of Vietnam Airlines’ largest and most significant markets in Europe. In 2019, Vietnam Airlines transported around 570,000 passengers between Vietnam and France.