The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines conducted 365 flights between Vietnam and Indonesia in 2015, carrying more than 100,000 passengers and over 1,000 tonnes of cargos.

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

The statistics were released at the firm’s customer conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, on December 16 which saw the participation of Indonesia aviation officials, and distributors, customers and partners of Vietnam Airlines in the host country.

According to Nghiem Van Khanh, head of the firm’s branch in Indonesia, in 2015 the Vietnamese aviation sector faced a range of difficulties stemming from Indonesia’s low GDP growth rate and rupiah depreciation, which, he said, weakened Indonesia people’s purchasing power and outbound tourism demands.

Against the backdrop, the firm coordinated with its distributors and partners as well as Indonesian authorities to swiftly launch marketing campaigns and build up a suitable ticket distribution system in the market, he said.

Khanh added that Vietnam Airlines is currently operating one daily flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Jakarta, using Airbus A321.

Since 2012, the national flag carrier has run more than 1,000 flights from Vietnam’s southern metropolis to the Indonesian capital city, contributing to boosting cooperation in economic, cultural and social fields between the two countries.

In 2016, the branch in Indonesia plans to improve its service quality and expand its ticket distribution network in the country.

The corporation will also launch more flights from Indonesia to Vietnam in order to meet the increasing travel demands of the two countries’ people, Khanh said, noting the plan matches the development course of two nations’ strategic partnership, especially in the context of to-be-formed ASEAN Community.

Indonesia has become one of Vietnam’s 20 largest tourism markets with about 50,000 Vietnamese holiday-makers visiting the country each year.

Around 80,000 Indonesian tourists also choose Vietnam as their holiday destination each year.

Vietnam Airlines in Germany performs well

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines’ branch in Germany has seen an impressive business performance with an estimated 58.3 million EUR in revenue this year.

2015 was a challenging year for the firm and the aviation sector in general with disadvantages on euro-American dollar exchange rate, fierce competitiveness among airlines, unstable politics in the Middle East and the danger of terrorism, head of the Vietnam Airlines branch Ngo Tri Hung said at a recent customer agents’ conference in Berlin.

Despite such challenges, the firm tried its best to improve its service quality and marketing as well to operate about 400 flights with 86 per cent full occupancy, he added.

The firm received ideas from its agents attending the conference on improving service quality.

Also at the conference, the firm auctioned a return ticket worth 3,000 EUR and collected more than 5,000 EUR from individuals and organisations to sponsor soldiers and guards who protect Vietnam’s islands and sea.

Vietnam Airlines records impressive change in RoK market

This year marks an impressive performance of the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines in the Republic of Korea (RoK) market, with improvements in operational scale, sale revenues and service quality.

The carrier’s branch in the RoK has fulfilled its tasks excellently, surpassing the set business plan by 11 percent, Cao Anh Son, Vietnam Airlines chief representative in Seoul said at a customer conference on December 15.

Together with rolling out the modern A350-900 aircraft for the Hanoi- Seoul route, Vietnam Airlines launched its new corporate identity as part of the “four-star service upgrade” strategy, smartening up its image and bringing convenience to customers, Son highlighted.

Over the past two decades, Vietnam Airlines has made travel easier for passengers by opening air routes connecting Hanoi, Da Nang City and Ho Chi Minh City with Seoul, Busan and many other big cities in the RoK with 60 flights a week.

The airline boasts 600 representative offices in the RoK.

VNA