The first flight on the Ho Chi Minh City - Shenzhen departed Ho Chi Minh City at 22:45 on November 27. There will be three flights weekly on this route, departing from HCM City on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Meanwhile, the Hanoi – Shenzhen service will be launched on November 28 with four flights weekly, departing Hanoi on at 23:55 on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.

All flights from Shenzhen to both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi depart at 3:35, with Ho Chi Minh City flights departing every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday; and Hanoi flights every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.

These new routes will not only connect Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to one of the most vibrant economic and technology hubs in China but also enable travelelrs to explore attractive domestic destinations in both Vietnam and China.

To celebrate the new launches, Vietnam Airlines offers promotional roundtrip airfares starting from 145 USD including taxes and charges on the Ho Chi Minh City - Shenzhen route and from 155 USD including taxes and charges on the Hanoi - Shenzhen route. These offers apply to tickets issued from now until December 31.

Bamboo Airways launches three new routes to South Korea

Vietnamese airlines Bamboo Airways has officially launched three new air routes to Incheon at the South Korea-Vietnam Business Forum in Seoul.

During the official visit to South Korea and the Mekong-Republic of Korea (RoK) Summit, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc attended the ceremony to open three new air routes from Hanoi, Danang and Cam Ranh to South Korea with Deputy Prime Minister of South Korea Hong Nam-ki on November 28.

The Danang-Incheon air route went into operation on October 17, the Cam Ranh-Incheon route went into operation on November 15 and the Hanoi-Incheon route will go into operation in December 2020.

"These are the first international regular flight routes that we have operated. They will be the foundation for us to expand the network to South Korea and other countries in the future," said Dang Tat Thang, vice chairman of Bamboo Airways.

John Park, Managing Director of Pacific Air Agency, the general agent for Bamboo Airways in South Korea, said they were honoured to work with the first private 5-star service-oriented airline in Vietnam. They hope the new air routes will boost both countries' development and strengthen their relationship. He supports Bamboo Airways to open more routes to South Korea in the future.

Korea Tourism Organisation reported that the number of Vietnamese visitors has increased year on year. The tourist growth rate in the past three years was 41%, making Vietnam the country with the highest growth of tourists to South Korea. 44.5% of the international flights from Vietnam was destined to South Korea.

Vietnam is also a popular destination for South Koreans. In the first seven months of 2019, the number of South Korean tourists to Vietnam reached 2.5 million, an increase of 22.1% compared to the same period in 2018. South Korea has surpassed China to become the country with the most visitors to Vietnam.

Danang and Nha Trang remain the favourite destinations for Korean tourists. The number of South Korean visitors in Khanh Hoa Province surged sharply to 124,000 in the first seven months, increased by 336% on 2018.

Bamboo Airways previously opened charter flights to meet market demands since April before co-operating with Pacific Air Agency to open the air routes from Danang and Cam Ranh to Incheon. Their flights have received warm welcomed from the customers and the data was positive so the airlines decided to open a new route from Hanoi to Incheon.

Bamboo Airways is using A321neo planes and promises five-star services for customers since they check-in at the airport. In December, Bamboo Airways will receive the Boeing 787–9 Dreamliner planes which are more suitable for international flights.

Dtinews/TTXVN