The new Non-stop flight to US route is hoped to help to increase number of foreign visitors arrive Vietnam up to 50 percent in next two years.
A plans to expand air network was approved by Vietnam’s government which will help to bring major markets includes Australia, China, Europe and the United States closer to Vietnam.
According to the plan, national carrier Vietnam Airlines will open direct fly to America’s west coast in 2018. The airline said that they are considering between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
There were 614,000 American visitors came to Vietnam in 2017, make it became 4th biggest market, a 11 person grown compare with previous year.
Vietnam Airlines and aircraft manufacturer Airbus had signed an MoU contract in September 2016 to order 10 A350-900 aircraft, which will be used for non-stop flights to the U.S.
But the giant economy across the Pacific is just part Vietnam’s sky plan.
For its neighbor China, Vietnam is set to open dozens of new flights by 2020.
The new routes will connect Can Tho, Da Lat, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Hue, Nha Trang and Phu Quoc Island of Vietnam with at least 17 Chinese destinations: Changchun, Chongqing, Dalian, Fuzhou, Guilin, Guiyang, Haikou, Hainan, Harbin, Lanzhou, Ningbo, Shenyang, Wuhan, Xi’an, Xiamen, Xishuangbanna and Zhengzhou.
New and bigger airplanes also will serve current air routes to China in order to increase passengers and improve quality services.
Chinese passengers to Vietnam surged nearly 50 percent to more than 4 million in 2017, accounting for nearly a third of foreign arrivals to the country.
Many new routes to Australia, France, India, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, and the U.K are part of Vietnam’s aviation development plan. All of these countries benefit from Vietnam’s e-visa and visa waiver programs.
The country welcomed nearly 13 million foreign visitors and raked in nearly VND515 trillion ($22.7 billion) from tourism in 2017. Vietnam government hope that new air routes will help to bring more tourists in next 2 years.