Fresh litchi, which is in season now in northern Vietnam, is being served to business-class and premium-class passengers on Vietnam Airlines’ international and domestic flights departing from Hanoi. 

Representative from the national flag carrier said that this is part of the airlines’ efforts to introduce local specialties to domestic and foreign friends. The airline sources the litchi from gardens cultivated in line with the VietGAP standards in the northern Bac Giang province’s Luc Ngan district.

In the coming time, other regional specialties such as longan will be added to in-flight catering service of the carrier, giving the passengers new experience of the airline’s services.

From the special traditional dish “pho” (noodle soup) to seasonal fruits, Vietnam Airlines is making efforts to combine its four-star services with Vietnam’s traditional culture when expanding its network worldwide.

Vietnam Airlines has been a leading carrier in the country in the past two decades. Last year, it conducted 140,000 flights carrying 22 million passengers. The corporation earned a record pre-tax profit of over 3.15 trillion VND (135.1 million USD), surpassing the yearly target by 92.6 percent and posting a year-on-year increase of 21.3 percent.

The parent company raked in more than 64.9 trillion VND in revenue and 1.9 trillion VND in pre-tax profit, exceeding the set target by 52 percent and registering a year-on-year rise of 11.7 percent.

Vietnam Airlines maintained its four-star rating by Skytrax for two consecutive years. Skytrax also placed the Vietnamese airline 14th among 20 carriers offering the world’s best premium economy class experience in 2017.

The on-time performance index (OTP) reached 90.2 percent for departures and 83.2 percent for arrivals, putting Vietnam Airlines among the top 10 airlines with the best OTP in the globe.

In 2017, Vietnam Airlines continued receiving national and international recognition with a number of prestigious awards, most notably being listed on the 10 strongest brands of Brand Finance.

Vietnam Airlines, a member of SkyTeam alliance, operates 90 routes to 20 domestic and 29 international destinations with an average of 400 flights per day.-VNA