Vietnam Airlines receives 11th Airbus A350-900 XWB.
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Vietnam Airlines always considers Airbus an important partner to help modernize its fleet up to four and five star standards in the future under its long-term development strategy, he added.
The transfer ceremony took place at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and the fifth anniversary of strategic partnership.
Earlier on March 27 evening, Vietnam Airlines held a ceremony marking the 15th anniversary of Vietnam – France direct flight, as part of celebrations for the 45th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties.
Vietnam Airlines is the first and only carrier to tap the Vietnam – France route over the past 15 years, playing a pillar role in developing domestic aviation strategy and contributing to tightening bilateral diplomatic ties.
Since its establishment, Vietnam Airlines has regarded flight services to Europe as strategic, with France being a key market and gateway to Europe. In 1994, it opened a representative office in France and launched one-day flights to the country with transit via Dubai – the first long route to Europe.
A decade later, the carrier opened direct flights linking Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with Paris, cutting travelling time to 12 hours with wide-body Boeing 777. While tapping flights to France from 1994 to 2003, Vietnam Airlines served around 800,000 passengers. A decade later, the figure rose four-fold to roughly 3.2 million.
