Vietnam Airlines
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| Vietnam Airlines Corporation Tổng Công ty Hàng không Việt Nam |
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| IATA VN |
ICAO HVN |
Callsign VIETNAM AIRLINES |
| Founded | 1956 (as Vietnam Civil Aviation) | |
| Hubs | Tan Son Nhat International Airport Noi Bai International Airport |
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| Focus cities | Da Nang International Airport | |
| Frequent flyer program | Golden Lotus Plus | |
| Fleet size | 49 (+45 orders) | |
| Destinations | 20 domestic and 41 international | |
| Parent company | Vietnam Airlines Corporation | |
| Company slogan | Bringing Vietnamese Culture to the World | |
| Headquarters | Gia Lam, Hanoi, Vietnam | |
| Key people | Pham Ngoc Minh (CEO) | |
| Website: http://www.vietnamairlines.com.vn | ||
Vietnam Airlines (Vietnamese: Tổng Công ty Hàng không Việt Nam) is the national flag carrier of Vietnam, and was established as a state enterprise in April 1989.
Vietnam Airlines Corporation was subsequently formed in 1993, after bringing together several service companies. The company is overseen by a seven-seat management board, members of which are appointed by the Prime Minister. Vietnam Airlines used to be the major stakeholder in Vietnam's second carrier, Pacific Airlines, but its share has recently been transferred to the Ministry of Finance.
In the coming years, along with the strong development of Vietnam tourism, Vietnam Airlines hopes to expand its services further to the United Kingdom and United States of America.
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[edit] Destinations
[edit] Fleet
Vietnam Airlines currently operates a total fleet of 49 passenger aircraft. As at 20 February 2008, the average age of aircraft in the fleet is 6.5 years.
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (Business/Economy) |
Routes | Notes |
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| Airbus A320-200 | 10 | 160 (0/160) | Domestic and regional routes Vietnam and China |
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| Airbus A321-200 | 13 (22 orders) |
184 (16/168) | Domestic and regional routes | Deliveries: 2008-2011 |
| Airbus A330-200 | 3 | 266 (24/242) | Regional and long-haul routes China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand |
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| Airbus A330-300 | 1 | 320 (36/284) | Regional and long-haul routes China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand |
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| Airbus A350-900 | (10 orders) | Entry into service: 2014 | ||
| ATR 72-200 | 6 | 66 (66) | Domestic routes | Economy Class Only |
| ATR 72-500 | 4 (5 orders) |
66 (66) | Domestic routes and Cambodia, Laos | Economy Class Only |
| Boeing 777-200ER | 1 4 1 4 |
295 (12/283) 307 (54/228) 325 (35/290) 338 (32/306) |
Domestic and long-haul routes Ha Noi, Da Nang, Frankfurt, Moscow, Paris, Melbourne, and Sydney |
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| Boeing 787-8 | (16 orders) | Entry into service: 2009 | ||
| Fokker 70 | 2 | 79 (79) | Domestic and regional routes | Economy Class Only |
Vietnam Airlines has ordered five Boeing 787-8 aircraft to be delivered from 2009, 12 Boeing 787-8 aircraft to be delivered from 2012 and 10 Airbus A321-200 for deliveries starting from 2006. The new aircraft will allow Vietnam Airlines to expand its network and replace some of its aircraft currently on lease in the fleet.[1]). Vietnam Airlines has leased an ex-Swiss International Air Lines Airbus A330-200 and two ex-Malaysia Airlines A330-200s within the year 2006.
The average age of the Vietnam Airlines fleet is 6.3 years (as of January 2007).
On October 1, 2007 Vietnam Airlines signed an MOU for the order of 10 A350 XWB and an additional 20 A321s[2].
[edit] Retired
[edit] In-flight services
[edit] Entertainment
On long-haul flights aboard the Boeing 777, all seats are equipped with in-flight entertainment. The Boeing 777 is equipped with Audio/Video On Demand (AVOD). AVOD allows passengers to select from a wide range of multilingual entertainment options, including feature films, music, news, and games.
[edit] Codeshare agreements
As of December 15, 2007, Vietnam Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines [3]:
[edit] Incidents and accidents
Vietnam Airlines experienced three fatal and several non-fatal incidents in the last 20 years. All fatal incidents have involved Russian made aircraft, all of which have since been phased out. Most of these incidents occurred on final approach or landing. All three fatal crashes occurred in driving rain.
There have been five reported hijackings in Vietnam. Three of these occurred in the 1970s during the Vietnam War on flights of Air Vietnam, the national flag airline managed by South Vietnam. The two other hijackings occurred in 1977 and 1992.
Vietnam Airlines has announced a series of measures to step up security in airports and on board aircraft following the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, including:
- New locking systems on all its aircraft to allow the cockpit to be insulated from the passenger cabin throughout flights.
- Additional security personnel at airports and more passenger checks.
- New X-ray machines and other screening equipment.
[edit] Training
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According to the Director General of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, a trade association of Asian based airlines, Vietnam’s aviation industry lacks experience in the realm of pilot and crew training. However, Vietnam Airlines is effecting continual improvements in this field. Vietnam Airlines undertook plans to train 400 pilots shortly after the start of the year 2000.
Transportation of dangerous goods, cabin crew training, CRM (crew-resource management) and pilot training are all safety enhancing programs taught to airline personnel. New Vietnamese pilots are assigned as Western-type aircraft co-pilots. All pilots – both national and foreign – receive biannual simulator training and periodic line checks by Western pilots. A Hanoi-based Airbus cabin mock-up is specifically used for smoke and evacuation training.
Most ATR captains and co-pilots are Vietnamese. Currently, Airbus captains and co-pilots are approximately one-third foreign and two-thirds Vietnamese citizens. All Fokker flight crews are Vietnamese, but instructors and check pilots are expatriates. Most Boeing flight crews are Vietnamese, and about one-third foreign.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam signed a contract with Socfreavia of France to set up a pilot training school in the central province of Phu Yen in late 1998. To date, this has not been completed. Only 40 per cent of Vietnam Airlines’ aircraft are captained by Vietnamese citizens, all of whom are required to attend training programs abroad. Many pilots have received training at the General Flying Services in Melbourne, Australia.
[edit] Maintenance
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Scheduled maintenance intervals are relatively conservative and follow the manufacturers' recommendations. Major engine and propeller maintenance is contracted to qualified overseas maintenance facilities, although a shift to performing more maintenance in-house is currently taking place. There have been no serious maintenance discrepancies with Vietnam Airlines in its history. Maintenance of Vietnam Airlines has been rated as one of the best in the world, and has passed many audits by competent regulatory bodies - including IOSA - without any remarkable findings.
As of May 1, 1992, Vietnam Airlines began conducting its own western-built aircraft repair and maintenance, starting with French-Italian turboprop ATR-72. Vietnamese technicians have since conducted repairs and maintenance of Boeing B737, Airbus A320, and Fokker F70 aircraft, and began maintenance checks on Boeing B767 aircraft in 1999, Boeing B777 aircraft in 2002. The transfer of maintenance and repair work from Airbus to Vietnam Airlines is projected to save the airline US$20 million a year. In August 1998, 15 technicians from the flag carrier took a course on aircraft maintenance and repair at the Boeing Center in Seattle. Vietnam Airlines sent all 45 technicians in mechanical engineering and wireless transmission to Boeing for the course, which ended in 1999. Trainees had been appraised as best at the Seattle FlightSafety Boeing training facility and were issued certificates, which are recognized by Vietnam’s Civil Aviation Authority. Additionally, in June 1998, Boeing signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Vietnam Airlines stating that it would, at its own cost, assist Vietnam Airlines in a maintenance and engineering support program to upgrade the aircraft-maintenance center at Tan Son Nhat Airport, so that it can become a full-capability maintenance center for Boeing 767 aircraft.
In conjunction with other investors, in April 1998, Vietnam Airlines stated it would invest US$1 million to develop an aircraft tire and brake maintenance workshop at the Ho Chi Minh City-based Aircraft Maintenance Center (AMC) A-75, with the assistance of Japan Airlines. Upon completion, the hangar facility now has a US$16 million tire/wheel/brake overhaul facility and a US$12 million avionics test and repair facility, capable of full maintenance on Vietnam Airlines aircraft fleet's wheels and brakes.
Now AMC A-75 provides line maintenance services for many airlines that operate Boeing, Airbus aircraft into the biggest aviation hub in Vietnam, namely Mandarin, Royal Brunei Airlines, Tiger Airways, Jetstar Asia (of Singapore), and many others.
There are no production facilities in Vietnam for aircraft and aircraft parts. Boeing has managed to obtain 35 per cent of the distribution market in Vietnam, and General Electric, in turn, supplies jet engines for the Boeing aircraft.
In addition to its self maintenance facilities, Vietnam Airlines also has maintenance contracts with Air France, AMECO of China, China Airlines, Evergreen Aviation Technologies, GAMECO, Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co, Lufthansa AERO, MTU Maintenance Hanover, Royal Brunei Airlines, Safe Air of New Zealand, and TAT Industries of France.
[edit] Financial standing
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Vietnam Airlines is owned by the government of Vietnam. The carrier has two wholly owned subsidiaries (Vietnam Aviation Service Company (VASCO) and Vietnam Airlines Express).
Vietnam Airlines enjoyed good growth and an average 45 per cent increase in passengers flown per year until 1997, when the Southeast Asian economic crisis and other contributing factors led to a loss in profits for the airline. Nevertheless, the airline remained profitable throughout the crisis. In 1996 and 1997, the airline posted profits exceeding US$100 million each year. In 1998, the airline saw its profit shrink to approximately US$7 million. Profits increased to US$59 million in 1999. Following the September 2001 attacks on the United States, at a time when many airlines were struggling, Vietnam Airlines saw a spike in passenger revenues. The airline carried more than 4 million passengers in 2002, which is an 18 per cent increase over the previous year. Its cargo traffic also rose 20 per cent in the same period, resulting in a 2002 profit of US$35.77 million. Despite the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak, the airline posted a US$26.2 million profit for 2003. In 2006, it carried 6.8 million passengers (3.7 million international) and earned revenue of nearly US$1.37 billion (first 11 months). Vietnam airlines carried more than 8,1 million passengers in 2007.
Vietnam Airlines is enjoying its current financial situation and is planning to increase its fleet size and destinations in the coming years.
Vietnam Airlines holds 40 per cent of the market share of international tourists flying to and from Vietnam. This is significant because Vietnam Airlines receives two-thirds of its profits from international passengers.
[edit] References
- ^ Airliner World, March 2005
- ^ "Vietnam Airlines to acquire 10 A350 XWB and 20 additional A321 aircraft" Airbus Press Centre, 01/10/07
- ^ Codeshare partners
[edit] External links
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