Despite talks of a direct route to the US for years, there remain concerns about a how profitable it would actually be.

Vietnam Airlines is preparing to open a direct route to the US

Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAA) Lai Xuan Thanh said if the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved its aviation monitoring capability then the plan to open a direct air route to the US would be possible. 

Employees were sent to overseas training courses in order to earn FAA certification.

Vietnam Airlines did this many years ago and has put two modern planes into operation. It hopes to start the direct route to San Francisco or Los Angeles with a technical stop in Tokyo or Osaka in Japan in 2018.    

However, there are opinions that there aren’t enough passengers to open a direct route. Moreover, no aircraft fly between Vietnam and the US fully loaded, nonstop and profitably.

According to the CAA, Vietnamese people living and studying in the US live in various locations. Their travel times to visit families or to continue their studies vary so they aren't regular passengers. 

The number of business people is small and it would not be profitable for Vietnam Airlines to operate just one route.

Vietnam Airlines cannot compete with other airlines such as the Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, and China Southern Airlines. Singapore Airlines has reduced the flight time from 21-24 hours to 15-16 hours.

Like some direct routes to Europe, the route to the US will face losses as they mostly depend on tourists instead of business travellers, and Vietnam Airlines must use other profitable routes to offset it. 

The flight routes to Japan or South Korean are profitable because many passengers are businesspeople and are more willing to pay for costly airfares.

dtinews/vietnamnet