HCMC - Delta Air Lines has marked its official entry into Vietnam’s growing aviation market via the opening last week of an office in HCMC.
The Vietnam office is part of Delta’s preparations for launching daily service to and from HCMC on June 1 this year in a strategy for expansion in Asia.
Establishing an office in Vietnam will enable the airline to provide first-hand service to originating passengers connecting through Tokyo to the U.S., said Brian Swain, managing director of Delta Air Lines in Asia.
Swain told reporters in HCMC last Friday that he believed the service to HCMC would make profit for Delta in the very challenging times for global airlines, which are forecast to lose US$4.7 billion this year. He said Delta expected business growth in certain markets despite the global economic recession.
“Even when we are shrinking, we are still able to grow in certain destinations such as some European markets, African market and Asia Pacific including HCMC…,” Swain said. He added Delta decided to fly to HCMC after carefully considering the current situation and expectations for future.
General Statistic Office’s figures showed American visitors to Vietnam in the first quarter of this year grew 17.2% year-on-year to nearly 121,000, though the international financial crisis had dealt a blow to consumers stateside.
The U.S. was among the few markets from which Vietnam attracted more visitors in the January-March period, when Vietnam welcomed less than one million international tourists, down 16.1% year-on-year.
Vietnam was an emerging market in Southeast Asia and an attractive destination for the U.S. travelers, said Sarathool Monthienvichienchai, general manager of Northwest Airlines – a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta for Thailand, Vietnam and Nepal.
Swain told the Daily at the press conference that Delta’s plan to fly to HCMC was proceeding as scheduled. “Now is the right time for us to commence service to HCMC,” he said, referring to the aforesaid factors.
Swain said bookings for Delta’s flights were now available at the Vietnam office as well as the website of Delta and Northwest. He said fares for the service were “very competitive” but declined to give details.
As scheduled, Northwest’s inaugural flight will arrive at Tan Son Nhat International Airport at 11:10 p.m. on June 1 and depart at 6:15 a.m. on the next day.
Northwest will use Boeing 757-200s for the service between HCMC and the U.S. via Japan’s Narita International Airport.
Sarathool said guests from Northwest aircraft would board connecting flights in Tokyo to such U.S. gateways as Los Angeles, Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, Portland, Seattle and San Francisco.
Sarathool said passengers would be able to make easy connection to and from the U.S. gateways. Northwest has not been granted the fifth freedom to transport passengers on the HCMC-Tokyo sector, he said.
Vo Huy Cuong, director of the Air Transport Department of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, said Tokyo would be a technical stop for Northwest, where this carrier will not let the passengers departing from HCMC leave, as well as pick up more passengers there.
Swain said Delta’s ability to take and disembark passengers in Tokyo would depend on negotiations between government agencies of the U.S. and Vietnam. Despite this, he is pinning high hopes on the upcoming service, especially when the world’s economy recovered given the airline’s advantage of having wide network coverage worldwide.
Delta, its Northwest subsidiary and Delta Connection carriers currently operate service from hubs in the U.S. and Tokyo to 379 destinations in 66 markets, and serve more than 170 million passengers each year. Delta’s marketing alliances allow customers to earn and redeem on over 16,000 daily flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners.
Pham Van Hien, chairman and CEO of East Sea Travel and Air Service Co., Delta’s sales representative in Vietnam, said passengers from Hanoi would be able to fly with Delta to the U.S. and beyond through its code-share services with SkyTeam members.
The Vietnam office is part of Delta’s preparations for launching daily service to and from HCMC on June 1 this year in a strategy for expansion in Asia.
Establishing an office in Vietnam will enable the airline to provide first-hand service to originating passengers connecting through Tokyo to the U.S., said Brian Swain, managing director of Delta Air Lines in Asia.
Swain told reporters in HCMC last Friday that he believed the service to HCMC would make profit for Delta in the very challenging times for global airlines, which are forecast to lose US$4.7 billion this year. He said Delta expected business growth in certain markets despite the global economic recession.
“Even when we are shrinking, we are still able to grow in certain destinations such as some European markets, African market and Asia Pacific including HCMC…,” Swain said. He added Delta decided to fly to HCMC after carefully considering the current situation and expectations for future.
General Statistic Office’s figures showed American visitors to Vietnam in the first quarter of this year grew 17.2% year-on-year to nearly 121,000, though the international financial crisis had dealt a blow to consumers stateside.
The U.S. was among the few markets from which Vietnam attracted more visitors in the January-March period, when Vietnam welcomed less than one million international tourists, down 16.1% year-on-year.
Vietnam was an emerging market in Southeast Asia and an attractive destination for the U.S. travelers, said Sarathool Monthienvichienchai, general manager of Northwest Airlines – a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta for Thailand, Vietnam and Nepal.
Swain told the Daily at the press conference that Delta’s plan to fly to HCMC was proceeding as scheduled. “Now is the right time for us to commence service to HCMC,” he said, referring to the aforesaid factors.
Swain said bookings for Delta’s flights were now available at the Vietnam office as well as the website of Delta and Northwest. He said fares for the service were “very competitive” but declined to give details.
As scheduled, Northwest’s inaugural flight will arrive at Tan Son Nhat International Airport at 11:10 p.m. on June 1 and depart at 6:15 a.m. on the next day.
Northwest will use Boeing 757-200s for the service between HCMC and the U.S. via Japan’s Narita International Airport.
Sarathool said guests from Northwest aircraft would board connecting flights in Tokyo to such U.S. gateways as Los Angeles, Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, Portland, Seattle and San Francisco.
Sarathool said passengers would be able to make easy connection to and from the U.S. gateways. Northwest has not been granted the fifth freedom to transport passengers on the HCMC-Tokyo sector, he said.
Vo Huy Cuong, director of the Air Transport Department of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, said Tokyo would be a technical stop for Northwest, where this carrier will not let the passengers departing from HCMC leave, as well as pick up more passengers there.
Swain said Delta’s ability to take and disembark passengers in Tokyo would depend on negotiations between government agencies of the U.S. and Vietnam. Despite this, he is pinning high hopes on the upcoming service, especially when the world’s economy recovered given the airline’s advantage of having wide network coverage worldwide.
Delta, its Northwest subsidiary and Delta Connection carriers currently operate service from hubs in the U.S. and Tokyo to 379 destinations in 66 markets, and serve more than 170 million passengers each year. Delta’s marketing alliances allow customers to earn and redeem on over 16,000 daily flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners.
Pham Van Hien, chairman and CEO of East Sea Travel and Air Service Co., Delta’s sales representative in Vietnam, said passengers from Hanoi would be able to fly with Delta to the U.S. and beyond through its code-share services with SkyTeam members.
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