VietNamNet Bridge - Numerous flights to and from France and Vietnam in September were canceled because of an Air France pilot strike.

Sources from Vietnam Airlines said it had to cancel a series of flights from Ho Chi Minh City to France, as well as connecting flights from Paris to Europe from September 16 to 28.

Specifically, four flights from Paris to Ho Chi Minh City on September 16, 18, 25 and 27 were canceled. Five other flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Paris were also canceled on September 17, 19, 22, 26 and 28. In addition, one flight was delayed for 24 hours.

Vietnam Airlines said that more than 1,000 passengers were affected by the incident, not to mention many other passengers on code-share flights from Paris to Europe.

The pilots of Air France began their strike on September 15. The strike affected code-share flights between the two airlines. Air France flights carrying Vietnam Airlines passengers were canceled.

It is expected that the pilots’ strike will end on September 30.

Air France is facing the longest strike ever of its pilots, causing great damage to the company as it has had to cancel half of its flights. For each day of strike, it suffers damages of Eur19 to Eur25 million.

Code-share is a popular form of cooperation between most major airlines in the world today. With code-share flights, the itinerary is shared by several airlines on the same route with only one booking needed.

Currently, Vietnam Airlines cooperates in the form of code-share with many airline companies, most recently with Jet Airways to launch flights from Vietnam to India. This form of cooperation brings benefits to both carriers and passengers.

Na Son