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Air France and Vietnam Airlines become partners. Jet Airways next?
October 13th 2017
SkyTeam fellows, Vietnam Airlines and Air France, on Tuesday signed a new joint venture agreement for flights between Vietnam and Europe. Read More »
The deal, which hinges on regulatory approval, will allow the Vietnamese flag carrier to place its code on 70 Air France routes from Paris to European destinations, an increase from the current 14. The French airline will add its code to 20 domestic routes in Vietnam, up from three.
Both airlines will continue to code share on Vietnam Airlines’ six a week Hanoi-Paris A350 route and the three times a week Ho Chi Minh City-Paris A350 service, which runs as a complement to Air France’s thrice-weekly B777-300ER flights on the same route.
“Consolidating our alliances is one of the aims of our ‘Trust Together’ strategic plan. This joint venture will be a long-term source of value for our customers and for our two airlines. Our aim is to maintain and develop our position as European leader in this region with very strong growth potential,” Air France CEO, Franck Terner.
“There is still pressure on prices on routes heading East,” Terner told Reuters. “The joint venture with Vietnam Airlines will strengthen our position and better mitigate this pressure on prices,” he said.
“Vietnam Airlines expects to take the current joint venture with Air France to a next level in order to reach our full potential in France and Europe,” Vietnam Airlines president and CEO, Duong Tri Thanh.
The Vietnamese carrier hopes the Air France deal will lead to similar cooperation agreements with other SkyTeam members.Star Alliance member, All Nippon Airways, owns 8.8% of Vietnam Airlines.
In the meantime, Air France is continuing its discussions with other Asia-Pacific carriers about cooperation deals, particularly in India. “We are in advanced talks with Jet Airways to see how we can strengthen our co-operation,” Air France boss Terner told Reuters.
