The event reviewed the development history, notable milestones and contributions of the Vietnam - France direct flight route over the past 20 years to the friendly relations between the two countries.
In the history of aviation, Vietnam Airlines is the first and only Vietnamese airline to operate direct flights between Vietnam and France for 20 years (2003 - 2023), playing an important role in aviation cooperation and strengthening the friendly relations between the two countries.
At the event, Vietnam Airlines and its aviation and tourism partners held a ceremony to launch and promote cooperation in developing tourism between Vietnam and France. At the same time, the airline held a ceremony to express gratitude to French aviation agents and partners who have always stood side by side and supported Vietnam Airlines throughout the process of establishing and developing its French route.
From the very beginning, Vietnam Airlines identified the route to France as having an important strategic role, due to France's position as the gateway to Europe with the ability to connect to North America. In addition, France is also a country with a long-standing and close tradition of cooperation with Vietnam.
In 1993-1994, Vietnam Airlines pioneered the Vietnam - France route by establishing a representative office in France and operating this route with a stop in Dubai using Boeing 767 aircraft.
In 2003, with the upgrade to the most modern Boeing 777-200ER wide-body fleet at that time, Vietnam Airlines officially opened a direct non-stop flight from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Paris on June 24, 2003.
The direct flight has shortened the flight time to only 12 hours compared to 1 day as before. The number of passengers flying between Vietnam and France has grown rapidly after Vietnam Airlines opened the direct flight. The flight also creates favorable conditions for hundreds of thousands of tourists to visit the two countries every year.
Mr. Dang Ngoc Hoa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnam Airlines, said: “ In the two decades since the launch of direct flights, Vietnam Airlines has transported a total of 3.8 million passengers and 174,500 tons of cargo between the two countries. The average annual growth rate of passengers and cargo before the pandemic was 5%/year and 10%/year, respectively.
Not only transporting passengers and goods, Vietnam Airlines is proud to have contributed to the economic, cultural and social connection between Vietnam and France, with many aviation cooperation activities, supporting diplomacy, tourism and promoting the image of the country and people of the two countries .
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam Airlines has strongly promoted its role as the national airline, overcoming all difficulties of the pandemic to maintain flights to transport goods, experts, and citizens between Vietnam, France and Europe. After COVID-19 was controlled, the airline quickly restored commercial flight frequencies and boosted demand on the Vietnam - France route.
Currently, with a flight frequency of 10 to 11 flights per week, along with the operation of wide-body Airbus A350 aircraft and 5-star service quality, Vietnam Airlines is holding the No. 1 position on the route with nearly 75% market share of direct passengers between the two countries and a high seat utilization rate of 84%.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Canh, Vice Chairman of the State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises, highly appreciated Vietnam Airlines' efforts in connecting the two countries: " For 20 years, Vietnam Airlines has been a pillar in Vietnam - France aviation cooperation, thereby contributing to strengthening the friendly relations between the two countries and two continents.
In particular, I appreciate the airline's efforts to overcome the difficulties and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and quickly recover and develop its flights to France. With strong progress, Vietnam Airlines is playing its role as an aviation bridge, supporting the promotion of increasingly better Vietnam-France relations ."
Vietnam Airlines flights have made an important contribution to promoting economic, cultural and social connections between Vietnam and France. Currently, France is one of Vietnam's leading trade partners in the European Union (EU).
Vietnam - France trade turnover had an average growth rate of 15.7% per year in the period 2011 - 2019. In 2022, the trade turnover between the two countries will reach 5.34 billion USD, an increase of more than 3 times from 1.6 billion USD in 2009.
Not only economic cooperation, the two countries also have a tradition of extensive cooperation and exchange in many other fields such as culture, education, health, urban planning, aviation, tourism, and sustainable development.
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