Vietnam Airlines ( vi, Hãng Hàng không Quốc gia Việt Nam, lit=Vietnam National Airlines) is the flag carrier of

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

. The airline was founded in 1956 and later established as a

state-owned enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

in April 1989. Vietnam Airlines is headquartered in Long Biên District,

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...

, with hubs at Noi Bai International Airport in

and

Tan Son Nhat International Airport Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport ( vi, Sân bay quốc tế Tân Sơn Nhất or Cảng hàng không quốc tế Tân Sơn Nhất) is the busiest airport in Vietnam with 32.5 million passengers in 2016 and 38.5 million passengers in 201 ...

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

. The airline flies to 64 destinations in 17 countries, excluding codeshared services. From its inception until the early 1990s, Vietnam Airlines was a minor carrier within the aviation industry as it was hampered by a variety of factors including the socio-economic and political situation of the country. With the government's normalization of relations with the United States, the airline was able to expand, improve its products and services, and modernize its ageing fleet. In 1996, the Vietnamese government brought together 20 service companies to form Vietnam Airlines Corporation, with the airline itself as the centrepiece. In 2010, the corporation was restructured into a

limited liability company A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability ...

and renamed Vietnam Airlines Company Limited. A seven-seat management board, members of which are appointed by the Vietnamese Prime Minister, oversees the company. As passenger transport constitutes its core activity, Vietnam Airlines plays a crucial role in the economic development of the country. It owns 100% of Vietnam Air Service Company – a

regional airline A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North ...

in southern Vietnam and 70% of the

low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...

Pacific Airlines Pacific Airlines Joint Stock Aviation Company (, operating as Pacific Airlines) is a low-cost airline headquartered in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. With its operating base at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Ho Chi Minh C ...

. In addition, the corporation earns revenue from

airline catering An airline meal, airline food, or in-flight meal is a meal served to passengers on board a commercial airliner. These meals are prepared by specialist airline catering services and normally served to passengers using an airline service trolle ...

and the maintenance and overhauling of aircraft through a number of its subsidiaries, including Vietnam Airlines Engineering Company and Vietnam Airlines Caterers. The company has also diversified its investments in the aircraft-leasing and airport ground-servicing industries, and is looking to manufacture aircraft components. It controls and operates a cargo division, Vietnam Airlines Cargo. Vietnam Airlines became a member of SkyTeam in June 2010, making it the first

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

n carrier to have joined that alliance. As of July 2016, the State's stake in Vietnam Airlines is 86.16%,

All Nippon Airways , also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had m ...

holds 8.77%, as the parent company (ANA Holdings) has successfully purchased a cost of US$109 million, becoming a strategic shareholder of the national flag carrier.

History

Beginnings

Vietnam Airlines has its origins in , when it was established by the North Vietnamese government under the name Vietnam Civil Aviation () following the nationalization of

Gia Lam Airport Gia Lam Airport () is an airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, located in Long Biên District, on the eastern bank of the Red River. It is primarily a military field, used by the Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF), with MiG-21 fighters and Kamov Ka-28 heli ...

. It was instituted after the government signed the Decree No. 666/TTg. The airline was created as part of the

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

for civilian purposes with support from both the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

; initially, its fleet consisted of two

Lisunov Li-2 The Lisunov Li-2 (NATO reporting name: Cab), originally designated PS-84, was a license-built Soviet-version of the Douglas DC-3. It was produced by Factory #84 in Moscow-Khimki and, after evacuation in 1941, at TAPO in Tashkent. The pr ...

s that were later replaced by two Ilyushin Il-14 and three Aero Ae-45s. This was due to an embargo that prohibited the airline from leasing and/or buying American technology or components. The airline's development and expansion was seriously hampered by the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

(1954–1975). Following the war, its first international destination was

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

, followed by

Vientiane Vientiane ( , ; lo, ວຽງຈັນ, ''Viangchan'', ) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of ...

in 1976. During that year, the airline was known as ''General Department of Civil Aviation in Vietnam'', and began full operations; it carried around 21,000 passengers, one-third of whom were on international flights, and of cargo. In 1978, another important destination of Vietnam Airlines was added, with flights offered to

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the expansion of the network to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Tupolev Tu-134, Vietnam Airlines AN0136951

In 1990, the company initiated discussions regarding the incorporation of Western-built aircraft into the fleet. Later that year, however, the carrier had to cancel the acquisition of two Airbus A310s due to their use of US-manufactured engines. By , the airline struck a wet-lease agreement with Dutch lessor TransAvia. The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-300, that arrived in Vietnam Airlines'

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

. However, the aircraft was returned after the

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

pressured the Dutch lessor to remove the aircraft from Vietnam. Subsequently, Vietnam Airlines organized a similar but more complicated deal with

TEA Basle EasyJet Switzerland SA, styled as easyJet, is a Swiss low-cost airline based in Meyrin, canton of Geneva.he Boeing 737must be positioned outside Vietnam, with no logo or lettering of Vietnam Airlines. On these conditions, it could operate on behalf of Vietnam Airlines" was reached. In ,

Cathay Pacific Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (CPA), more widely known as Cathay Pacific (), is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and subsidiaries have ...

and Vietnam Airlines agreed on a 50–50 joint venture to operate between Hong Kong and Vietnam, as the airline's Tupolev Tu-134 fleet did not meet Kai Tak Airport's noise restrictions. In , the

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...

was supplemented with an Airbus A310. However, a dispute with

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n Jes Air over who should pay for the repairs after the aircraft sustained an

engine failure A turbine engine failure occurs when a turbine engine unexpectedly stops producing power due to a malfunction other than fuel exhaustion. It often applies for aircraft, but other turbine engines can fail, like ground-based turbines used in power ...

led to its replacement with another A310 from

GATX GATX Corporation is a railcar lessor that owns fleets in North America, Europe, and Asia. In addition, jointly with Rolls-Royce Limited, it owns one of the largest aircraft spare engine lease portfolios. It is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. ...

, also operated by Jes Air. A similar dispute with

United Technologies United Technologies Corporation (UTC) was an American multinational conglomerate headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. It researched, developed, and manufactured products in numerous areas, including aircraft engines, aerospace systems, ...

encouraged the airline to switch from Airbus to Boeing. Hence, a Boeing 767-200ER, leased from

Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services (AWAS) or simply Ansett Worldwide was one of the world's largest commercial jet aircraft leasing companies. Its head office was located in Dublin, Ireland, and it had offices in Miami, New York City, and Sing ...

(AWAS), arrived in January 1993, and a Royal Brunei Airlines

Boeing 767-300ER The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified o ...

, arrived the following year. In October 1993, the first

Airbus A320-200 Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

was incorporated over a two-year wet-lease contract with

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...

. Vietnam Airlines by now had started discussions with Air France about a partnership, and the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

carrier agreed to lease its Airbuses to Vietnam Airlines, and also to provide customer support and pilot/crew training. By that time the route network had further expanded internationally, seeing the incorporation of destinations such as

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

, and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

. In 1993, the airline carried 1.06 million passengers, 418,000 of whom were on international flights.

New enterprise: 1993–2006

The airline became the flag carrier of Vietnam in 1993, after having completed a restructuring programme that was started four years earlier. In that year, the airline split from the

Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV or simply CAA; vi, Cục Hàng không Việt Nam, lit=Authority of Aviation of Vietnam) is the aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport of Vietnam. It handles and regulates civil aviation ...

(CAAV) and became a

state enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the government ...

. The move was similar to the reorganization of the Chinese

CAAC Airlines CAAC Airlines (), formerly the People's Aviation Company of China (中國人民航空公司), was the airline division of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and the monopoly civil airline in the People's Republic of China. It was ...

into several regional airlines in 1987. Despite the fact that the airline gained some independence from the CAAV, it was still known as ''Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam'' within the 1993–1996 period. In ,

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

lifted the trade embargo to allow Vietnam Airlines the ability to acquire Western-built aircraft. Consequently, Vietnam Airlines announced in April of the same year that it would be phasing out its inefficient Soviet planes. By , the fleet consisted of

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the fam ...

s (all of them leased from Air France),

Antonov An-24 The Antonov An-24 (Russian/Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-24) ( NATO reporting name: Coke) is a 44-seat twin turboprop transport/passenger aircraft designed in 1957 in the Soviet Union by the Antonov Design Bureau and manufactured by Kyiv, Ir ...

s, ATR72s,

Boeing 707-300 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...

Ilyushin Il-18 The Ilyushin Il-18 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-18; NATO reporting name: Coot) is a large turboprop airliner that first flew in 1957 and became one of the best known and most durable Soviet aircraft of its era. The Il-18 was one of the world ...

s, Tupolev Tu-134s and

Yakovlev Yak-40 The Yakovlev Yak-40 (russian: Яковлев Як-40; NATO reporting name: Codling) is a regional jet designed by Yakovlev. The trijet's maiden flight was in 1966, and it was in production from 1967 to 1981. Introduced in September 1968, the ...

s; at this time the route network comprised domestic destinations (including Ban Me Thuot,

Da Nang Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is on ...

, Dien Bien Phu, Hue, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc and

Pleiku Pleiku is a city in central Vietnam, located in the Central Highlands region. It is the capital of the Gia Lai Province. Many years ago, it was inhabited primarily by the Bahnar and Jarai ethnic groups, sometimes known as the Montagnards or De ...

) and international destinations (including Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore). On , the airline, along with a number of other aviation-related businesses, were incorporated to establish ''Vietnam Airlines Corporation''. Two

Fokker 70 The Fokker 70 is a narrow-body, twin-engined, medium-range, turbofan regional airliner designed and produced by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It was developed during the early 1990s as a smaller version of the newly-developed F ...

s were purchased in mid-1995 for million; they were aimed at partly replacing the Tu-134 fleet on domestic routes as well as at serving as VIP transport. In , discussions with

GECAS GECAS (GE Capital Aviation Services) was an Irish–American commercial aviation financing and leasing company. AerCap acquired the company from GE Capital on November 1, 2021. GECAS was the largest commercial airline leasing/financing company in ...

for the lease of additional, second-hand

s were under way; these ex-

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continental started ...

aircraft would act as a replacement for wet-leased

Boeing 767 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified o ...

aircraft ( -300ERs and -200ER leased from AWAS and Royal Brunei) in the fleet. Airbus A320-214, Vietnam Airlines AN0100888

In , Vietnam Airlines started offering

business class Business class is a travel class available on many commercial airlines and rail lines, known by brand names which vary, by airline or rail company. In the airline industry, it was originally intended as an intermediate level of service between ...

services and in 1999, the airline launched its

frequent-flyer program A frequent-flyer program (American English) or frequent-flyer programme (British English) is a loyalty program offered by an airline. Many airlines have frequent-flyer programs designed to encourage airline customers enrolled in the program ...

, Golden Lotus Plus; During 1996, Vietnam Airlines looked for aircraft which would substitute the A320s wet-leased from Air France when the deal was over. Apart from acquiring further A320s, the airline considered Boeing 737s and

McDonnell Douglas MD-90 The McDonnell Douglas (later Boeing) MD-90 is an American five-abreast single-aisle airliner developed by McDonnell Douglas from its successful model MD-80. The airliner was produced by the developer company until 1997 and then by Boeing Comme ...

s. In , GECAS delivered the of Boeing 767-300ER to the carrier, on

dry-lease Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide tempora ...

for years. In the same year, Boeing 767-300ERs and a Boeing 767-200, on lease from AWAS and Royal Brunei Airlines, respectively, were returned to the lessors, but in early another Boeing 767-300ER was phased in on a one-year lease from AWAS. With its freedom to operate Western-built aircraft, Vietnam Airlines considered the acquisition of

long-haul In aviation, the flight length refers to the distance of a flight. Commercial flights are often categorized into long-, medium- or short-haul by commercial airlines based on flight length, although there is no international standard definition and ...

aircraft to better service Vietnamese living overseas. The

Airbus A340 The Airbus A340 is a long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 quadjet in parallel wit ...

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, ...

and the

McDonnell Douglas MD-11 The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is an American tri-jet wide-body airliner manufactured by American McDonnell Douglas (MDC) and later by Boeing. Following DC-10 development studies, the MD-11 program was launched on December 30, 1986. Assembly of ...

were topics of discussion. Meanwhile, two Fokker 70s were acquired in May and July to replace the twelve Tupolev Tu-134s. On 3 September 1997, the crash of a Tupolev Tu-134B, on approach to Phnom Penh

Pochentong Airport Phnom Penh International Airport ( km, អាកាសយានដ្ឋានអន្តរជាតិភ្នំពេញ; french: Aéroport international de Phnom Penh) is the busiest and largest airport in Cambodia, occupying a land ar ...

in bad weather, resulted in more than fatalities. Vietnam Airlines Boeing 767-300ER VN-A769 KUL 2003-12-15

Vietnam Airlines Boeing 777-200ER VN-A141 SGN 2008-4-6

A new

was introduced in early 1998, initially unveiled on a Boeing 767. In , Vietnam Airlines signed a historic agreement with

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and ...

for the acquisition of its first ever US-built aircraft, signalling the start of trade under the Bilateral Trade Agreement between the two countries. The deal involved four Boeing 777-200ERs. The transaction was valued at million; the first aircraft was initially scheduled for delivery in . These four aircraft, along with six others of the same type that are leased from

International Lease Finance Corporation The International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) was an aircraft lessor headquartered in the Constellation Place in Century City, Los Angeles, California, US. It was the world's largest aircraft lessor by value, though ILFC's rival, General El ...

(ILFC), are the flagships of the airline, and serve on medium and long-haul routes, respectively. During that year, the airline carried 3.4 million passengers, 1.9 million of whom were on domestic flights; flights to Beijing resumed and services to Kunming were launched. During 2002, Vietnam Airlines considered a lease offer from Airbus for two Airbus A340-300s. On 4 September 2003, a landmark ceremony celebrated the airline's receipt of its first Boeing 777-200ER purchased outright from Boeing. On 28 October, the airline decided to move its operations in Moscow from

Sheremetyevo International Airport Sheremetyevo Alexander S. Pushkin International Airport ( rus, links=no, Международный аэропорт Шереметьево имени А. С. Пушкина, p=ʂɨrʲɪˈmʲetʲjɪvə ''Mezhdunarodny aeroport Sheremetyevo imen ...

Domodedovo International Airport Domodedovo may refer to: * Domodedovo International Airport, an airport in Russia * Domodedovo (town), a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia * Domodedovo District, an administrative raion of Moscow Oblast, Russia * Domodedovo Airlines, a defunct Russian a ...

. In , Vietnam Airlines ordered four Boeing 787-8s. Twelve additional 787-8s were ordered in late 2007, some of them to be directly acquired from the company, and the rest to be purchased by the carrier's subsidiary Vietnam Aircraft Leasing Company (VALC). These new aircraft were to allow Vietnam Airlines to expand its network and replace some leased aircraft. Regarding the delays from Boeing, CEO Pham Ngoc Minh remarked in , "We are not happy about the constant delays. It affects our business plan. We expected to get our planes in 2009, then 2010, and now nobody can confirm to us which is the exact delivery date. I can be patient but it gives us a lot of headaches." In 2010 the airline switched its Boeing 787 order from the to the model, stating that 787-8s did not meet all the requirements Boeing initially promised; it is expected the airline will receive its first aircraft of the type in 2015. On 20 June 2005, the airline launched direct services to

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

after having discontinued services to Berlin. It came after the 2004–2005 period when travel between the two countries soared 70%. The following year, Vietnam Airlines was admitted into

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tarif ...

. As part of the move, Vietnam Airlines had to meet the association's IOSA safety standards.

Expansion: 2007–current

According to a number of newspaper reports in 2007, the

Vietnamese government The Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (), also known as the Vietnamese Government or the Government of Vietnam (), is the executive branch and body of the State administration of Vietnam. The members of the Government are appoi ...

planned to partly privatize Vietnam Airlines. In the plan, the government considered selling 20–30% of the airline's stake to outsiders, with the government holding the balance. This was a small part of a bigger proposal by the government to privatize its state-owned companies, due to be completed by 2010. Vietnam authorized the plan the following year; however, the plan was not carried out as the airline missed its deadline scheduled by the government, which was arranged for 2010, due to the

Global Financial Crisis Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

. On 1 October 2007, the airline and VALC signed a memorandum of understanding for the purchase of ten

Airbus A350 XWB The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner developed and produced by Airbus. The first A350 design proposed by Airbus in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the A330 ...

s, and 20 additional Airbus A321s. The Airbus A350s will supplement the Boeing 787s already ordered by the airline. This single order will result in Vietnam Airlines becoming one of the largest Airbus operators in Asia. The two companies also ordered five extra ATR 72-500s in . Vietnam was chosen as the host of Miss World's 60th contest in 2008. As the country's

national airline A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. His ...

, Vietnam Airlines was selected as the sponsoring airline for the

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

. Therefore, it was tasked the job of managing all the transport matters for the contest, to be carried out during September and October, just before the beginning of the competition. However, it was later decided to carry out the event in

Sanya Sanya (; also spelled Samah) is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan Province in South China. According to the 2020 census, the total population of Sanya was 1,031,396 inhabitants, livi ...

, following speculations of Vietnam withdrawing. In , Vietnam Airlines added

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...

, the airline point served in Japan besides

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since anc ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

and

, to the route network. In 2009, Vietnam Airlines and the

Government of Cambodia The politics of Cambodia are defined within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, in which the king serves as the head of state, and the prime minister is the head of government. The collapse of communism set in motion events that led ...

established a joint-venture, having 49% and 51% stockholding, respectively, with the goal of boosting tourism in

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

. The joint-venture was a new Cambodian national airline named Cambodia Angkor Air, which started flying in July the same year, using

ATR-72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed ...

aircraft; an Airbus A321 joined the fleet in September. Also in 2009, the carrier signed a deal for another 16 Airbus A321s plus two Airbus A350s, during the

Paris Air Show The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the Frenc ...

. In addition, Vietnam Airlines launched a new bilingual website in to simplify bookings and adopted a new passenger service system designed by IT provider Sabre Airline Solutions. On 26 August 2010, the airline teamed up with Boeing during the unveiling of its interior modernization programme to increase passenger comfort. From late September to early October, Vietnam Airlines discounted up to 85% of its 90,000 fares to celebrate Thang Long-Hanoi's 1000th anniversary. In November 2010, the airline awarded

Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...

a million contract to retrofit the Airbus A321s' aircraft flight systems, which is calculated to save Vietnam Airlines per aircraft per year. In , plans were announced by the airline to re-initiate an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...

(IPO) by the end of 2012; an earlier attempt was stalled by the 2007–2010 financial crisis. Scheduled for mid-2014 after several delays, the IPO and subsequent share-offerings will supply the funds to expand Vietnam Airlines' fleet and network. With the company valued at billion, the government plans to initially keep 75% of the shares. The IPO plan was submitted to the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport in . Scheduled to commence on , the IPO has already received two submissions from foreign companies, yet their names have not been disclosed. The corporation will be restructured by 2015 to bring it in line with other

s and to shift its focus away from non-core businesses. Following restructuring, the airline group will consist of Vietnam Airlines itself, as well as three carriers; in total, the corporation will comprise 26 independently audited companies. Vietnam Airlines Double Airbus A350 in Narita International Airport

Vietnam Airlines Double Airbus A350 in Narita International Airport

In , Vietnam Airlines boosted its stake in the low-cost carrier

Jetstar Pacific Airlines Pacific Airlines Joint Stock Aviation Company (, operating as Pacific Airlines) is a low-cost airline headquartered in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. With its operating base at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Ho Chi Minh C ...

to 70%, with

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founde ...

holding the balance. The Vietnamese flag carrier was the major shareholder in Vietnam's second largest airline, but its stake had been transferred to the Ministry of Finance, and subsequently to the Vietnamese State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC). The carrier's takeover of SCIC's stake in

Jetstar Pacific Pacific Airlines Joint Stock Aviation Company (, operating as Pacific Airlines) is a low-cost airline headquartered in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. With its operating base at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Ho Chi Minh C ...

will capitalise the low-cost carrier with million, an amount that will be directed towards fleet renewal. In late , the aircraft lessor ALC announced the placement of an order for eight Boeing 787-9s, which will be leased to Vietnam Airlines; deliveries are expected to start in 2017. In late , the carrier signed an agreement with Vietnam's Eximbank for a loan worth million, which the carrier will use to finance the acquisition of four Airbus A321s; a further million was loaned in April 2013 to finance the purchase of eight Boeing 787s. In a deal valued at billion, Vietnam Airlines signed a contract with

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...

in for 40 engines to power the Boeing 787 aircraft the airline has on order. In , a new route to Tokyo-Haneda from

was introduced. Vietnam Airlines received its first

Airbus A350-900 The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner developed and produced by Airbus. The first A350 design proposed by Airbus in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the A330 ...

in late , becoming the second operator of the type worldwide after

Qatar Airways Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. ( ar, القطرية, ''al-Qaṭariya''), operating as Qatar Airways, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, the airline operates a hub-and-spoke netwo ...

. In , the airline first

Boeing 787-9 The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body jet airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, ...

entered the fleet. In November 2018, the carrier received its first Airbus A321neo. Vietnam Airlines' participation in Cambodia Angkor Airlines ended in April 2020 when all the shares were sold to an undisclosed buyer, while acquiring all Qantas's stake in Jetstar Pacific, eventually rebranding the carrier as

in the same year. In November 2021, Vietnam Airlines started its first direct non-stop service to the United States, from Ho Chi Minh City to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

Corporate affairs and identity

Vietnam Airlines Company Limited was a

wholly owned by the government of Vietnam, having been restructured from Vietnam Airlines Corporation in June 2010 and then formally became Vietnam Airlines

Joint Stock Company A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders a ...

in 2015, which is considered as a "exceptional milestone" by the airline. Its role is to provide economic gains to the country, as its tasks, in addition to scheduled passenger and cargo transport, include "responsibility towards labor, contribution to the state budget, and providing chartered flights", according to former CEO Dao Manh Nhung. The airline is headed and overseen by a seven-seat management team, members of which are selected by the

Prime Minister of Vietnam The prime minister of Vietnam ( vi, Thủ tướng Việt Nam), officially styled as the Prime Minister of the Government of the Socialist Republic ( vi, Thủ tướng Chính phủ nước Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa), is the head of g ...

. , Dang Ngoc Hoa is the chairman of the company, whereas Le Hong Ha is the President and CEO. , the workforce of the Group numbered 21,255 employees with Vietnam Airlines itself employing 6,409 people. The airline is headquartered in the Long Bien District of Hanoi; previously it was headquartered at

Gia Lam ''Gia'' is a 1998 American biographical drama television film about the life and times of one of the first supermodels, Gia Carangi. The film stars Angelina Jolie as Gia and Faye Dunaway as Wilhelmina Cooper, with Mercedes Ruehl and Elizabeth Mi ...

, Hanoi. When Vietnam Airlines wholly owned

after

Jetstar Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd, operating as Jetstar, is an Australian low-cost airline (self-described as "value-based") headquartered in Melbourne. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas, created in response to the threat posed by airline Virgi ...

's withdrawal of stakes in this

, the Corporation has started to use the term Vietnam Airlines Group to refer a group consisting of three airlines owned by Vietnam Airlines including Vietnam Airlines (itself), Pacific Airlines and

Vietnam Air Services Company Vietnam Air Services Company (VASCO) ( vi, Công ty bay dịch vụ hàng không) is an airline headquartered in Tân Bình, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A fully owned subsidiary of Vietnam Airlines, it mainly operates regional scheduled flights on ...

Training

In 2009, the airline, Airbus and ESMA Aviation Academy created Bay Viet Flight Training Company to train pilots in the country, with the expectation that up to 100 trainees would graduate annually. In October 2010, the company planned to train 60 pilots in Vietnam during 2011–2012. In 2010, Vietnam Airlines needed 636 pilots, 60% of whom were Vietnamese. It planned to raise that figure it to 75% by 2015, meaning there will be at least 100 new recruits each year from 2010 until 2015. Vietnam Airlines also contracts CAE Global Academy Phoenix in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, United States, to train its cadets.

Financial performance

Vietnam Airlines has enjoyed an average of 37% increase in passengers flown per year until 1997, when the

Asian Financial Crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998– ...

and other contributing causes led to a loss in profits for the airline. Nevertheless, the airline remained profitable throughout the crisis. In 1996, the airline carried 2.5 million passengers, up 18% from 1995. The airline carried more than 4 million passengers in 2002, which is an 18% increase over the previous year. Its cargo traffic also climbed 20% during the same period, resulting in a 2002 profit of US$35.77 million. Despite the

severe acute respiratory syndrome Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''sev ...

(SARS) outbreak, the airline posted a US$26.2 million profit for 2003. In 2006, it carried 6.8 million passengers (3.7 million international) and earned revenue of nearly US$1.37 billion (first 11 months). Vietnam Airlines carried more than 9 million passengers, of which 4 million were international travellers in 2007, the year which saw the airline earning a gross profit of US$23 million from a revenue of US$1.23 billion. It also transported 115,100 tonnes of cargo. In 2009, the airline's

revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive rev ...

was US$1.3 billion, compared to US$1.56 billion it earned the previous year. During this period, Vietnam Airlines carried 9.3 million passengers. According to '' Anna.aero'', Vietnam Airlines' passenger capacity for 2010 rose 30% over the same period of the previous year. This also coincided with the increase in capacity at Vietnamese airports, at 21%. In 2012, the company's total revenue totalled US$2.4 billion, with profits totalling US$3.3 million. The following year, the carrier posted a million gross profit. Vietnam Airlines held about 40% of the market share of international passengers flying to and from Vietnam in February 2012. At the time, Vietnam Airlines controlled 77% share of the domestic aviation market, with 14% covered by

. As of December 2012, Vietnam Airlines controlled just below 70% of the domestic market share. In July 2021, it was announced that Vietnam Airlines employees can buy 70 million shares as strategic shareholder

ANA Holdings , also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had m ...

transferred 70 million shares to 15,100 employees of the Vietnam Airlines Group.

Subsidiaries and affiliates

Vietnam Airlines Group has at least 20 subsidiaries and affiliates. By the end of its restructuring in 2015, the company will have offloaded its stakes in more than 10 enterprises.

Aircraft maintenance and production

Vietnam Airlines is increasingly becoming involved in the

maintenance Maintenance may refer to: Biological science * Maintenance of an organism * Maintenance respiration Non-technical maintenance * Alimony, also called ''maintenance'' in British English * Champerty and maintenance, two related legal doct ...

, overhauling, and production of aircraft. Maintenance works are carried out by Vietnam Airlines Engineering Company (VAECO), that was established on 1 January 2009. VAECO was organized mainly upon the amalgamation of the A75 and A76 aircraft maintenance bases. VAECO carries out maintenance and technical services for Vietnam Airlines as well as for other airlines. The establishment of this company opens a new era to the aircraft maintenance field in Vietnam. As of 2013, VAECO was capable of performing a wide range of maintenance on many different aircraft types; this includes C-checks for the

Boeing 777 The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet. The 777 was designed to bridge the gap betw ...

Airbus A330 The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...

and

Airbus A321 The Airbus A321 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short to medium range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin engine jet airliners; it carries 185 to 236 passengers. It has a stretched fuselage which was the first derivative of the b ...

; and D-checks, the most thorough of all maintenance procedures, which are carried out on the ATR 72 and Fokker 70. In addition to its self maintenance facilities, Vietnam Airlines also has maintenance contracts with other airlines and maintenance organisations. There are currently no production facilities in Vietnam for aircraft and

spare part A spare part, spare, service part, repair part, or replacement part, is an interchangeable part that is kept in an inventory and used for the repair or refurbishment of defective equipment/units. Spare parts are an important feature of logist ...

s. However, Boeing has managed to obtain 35% of the distribution market in Vietnam, and

GE Aviation GE Aviation, a subsidiary of General Electric, is headquartered in Evendale, Ohio, outside Cincinnati. GE Aviation is among the top aircraft engine suppliers, and offers engines for the majority of commercial aircraft. GE Aviation is part of t ...

, in turn, supplies

jet engine A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet (fluid), jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include Rocket engine, rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and ...

s for the Boeing aircraft. For the future, conversely, Vietnam Airlines is planning to build a maintenance factory in conjunction with

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

and other companies. It has also signed a memorandum of understanding with

EADS Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

, a pan-European aerospace and defence corporation, that would let the corporation assemble and manufacture plane components in the future.

Destinations

Vietnam Airlines has a network within Asia, North America, Europe and Oceania. With about 300 daily flights, the airline flies to 21 destinations domestically, and to 43 internationally. In addition, it has

codeshare agreement A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...

s with a number of airlines for other routes, some of which span to North America.

Tết flights

Vietnam Airlines have traditionally increased flights among Vietnamese cities to cater for the heavy demands brought by the annual

Tết Tết (), short for Tết Nguyên Đán ( Chữ Hán: 節元旦), Spring Festival, Lunar New Year, or Vietnamese Lunar New Year is one of the most important celebrations in Vietnamese culture. The colloquial term "Tết" is a shortened form of ...

celebration. This busy period, which could fall anywhere from late January to mid-February, is Vietnam's most important celebration; hundreds of extra flights are scheduled by domestic airlines during this period to allow Vietnamese to return to their families, often in rural areas, to celebrate the occasion. In 2010, the airline increased its seat capacity from 45% to 120% on certain domestic routes. In 2011, it increased additional flights on ten routes, adding more than 100,000 seats. About 63,000 of these seats were between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. This represented a remarkable 41% increase against normal days. In 2013, the carrier added an extra 174,000 seats during the celebratory period, of which 82,000 seats were on the trunk route between its primary hubs.

Alliances

Vietnam Airlines joined SkyTeam on .

Codeshare agreements

Vietnam Airlines has

s with the following airlines: *

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...

Air Europa Air Europa Líneas Aéreas, S.A.U., branded as Air Europa, is the third-largest Spanish airline after Iberia and Vueling. The airline is headquartered in Llucmajor, Mallorca, Spain; it has its main hub at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport ...

Bangkok Airways Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited ( th, บางกอกแอร์เวย์ส) is a regional airline based in Bangkok, Thailand. It operates scheduled services to destinations in Thailand, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Laos, M ...

* Cambodia Angkor Air *

China Airlines China Airlines (CAL; ) is the state-owned flag carrier of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and one of its two major airlines along with EVA Air. It is headquartered in Taoyuan International Airport and operates over 1,400 flights weekly (in ...

China Eastern Airlines China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited (), also known as China Eastern, is an airline headquartered in the China Eastern Airlines Building, on the grounds of Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Changning District, Shanghai. It i ...

China Southern Airlines China Southern Airlines Company Limited is an airline headquartered in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province and is the largest airline in China. Established on 1 July 1988 following the restructuring of the CAAC Airlines that acqu ...

Czech Airlines Czech Airlines j.s.c. (abbreviation: ČSA, cz, České Aerolinie, a.s.) is the flag carrier of the Czech Republic. Its head office is located in the Vokovice area of Prague's 6th district and its hub is Václav Havel Airport Prague. The c ...

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along ...

El Al El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (, he, אל על נתיבי אויר לישראל בע״מ), trading as El Al (Hebrew: , "Upwards", "To the Skies" or "Skywards", stylized as ELAL; ar, إل-عال), is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugura ...

Etihad Airways Etihad Airways ( ar, شَرِكَة ٱلْاِتِّحَاد لِلطَّيْرَان, sharikat al-ittiḥād li-ṭ-ṭayarān) is one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa ...

Finnair Finnair ( fi, Finnair Oyj, sv, Finnair Abp) is the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland, with its headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helsinki Airport, its hub. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both domestic and international ...

Garuda Indonesia Garuda Indonesia is the flag carrier of Indonesia, headquartered at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport. A successor of KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf, it is a member of SkyTeam and the second-largest airline of Indonesia after Lion Air, op ...

* ITA Airways *

Kenya Airways Kenya Airways Ltd., more commonly known as Kenya Airways, is the flag carrier airline of Kenya. The company was founded in 1977, after the dissolution of East African Airways. Its head office is located in Embakasi, Nairobi, with its hub a ...

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...

* Korean Air *

Lao Airlines Lao Airlines State Enterprise
."
Middle East Airlines Middle East Airlines – Air Liban S.A.L. ( ar, طيران الشرق الأوسط ـ الخطوط الجوية اللبنانية ''Ṭayyarān al-Sharq al-Awsaṭ – al-Khuṭūṭ al-jawiyyah al-lubnāniyyah''), more commonly known as Middle ...

Philippine Airlines Philippine Airlines (PAL), a trade name of PAL Holdings, Inc. (Philippine Stock Exchange, PSEPAL (Philippine Air Lines until 1970), is the flag carrier airline of the Philippines. Headquartered at the Philippine National Bank, PNB Financial Cen ...

Saudia Saudia ( ar, السعودية '), formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines (), is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. The airline's main operational base is at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. King Khalid Int ...

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffic ...

(Railway) * TAROM *

XiamenAir XiamenAir, also known as Xiamen Airlines, is a Chinese passenger airline based in Xiamen, Fujian Province. The airline operates scheduled passenger flights out of Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport and, to a lesser extent, Beijing Daxing Interna ...

* VASCO

Fleet

Current

, Vietnam Airlines operates the following aircraft:

Previously operated

Vietnam Airlines Fokker 70 VN-A502 PNH 2004-6-27

Since its conception in 1956, the airline has operated a wide range of aircraft, including Soviet, American, and European aircraft. Having retired all Soviet-made planes, the airline currently uses Boeing, ATR, and Airbus aircraft. Vietnam Airlines had operated the following aircraft throughout its history: * Aero Ae-45 *

Airbus A300-600 The Airbus A300 is a wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Airbus. In September 1967, aircraft manufacturers in the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a large airliner. West ...

Airbus A300B4 The Airbus A300 is a wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Airbus. In September 1967, aircraft manufacturers in the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a large airliner. Wes ...

Airbus A310-200 The Airbus A310 is a wide-body aircraft, designed and manufactured by Airbus Industrie, then a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers. Airbus had identified a demand for an aircraft smaller than the A300, the first twin-jet wide-bod ...

Airbus A310-300 The Airbus A310 is a wide-body aircraft, designed and manufactured by Airbus Industrie, then a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers. Airbus had identified a demand for an aircraft smaller than the A300, the first twin-jet wide-bod ...

Airbus A321-100 The Airbus A321 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short to medium range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin engine jet airliners; it carries 185 to 236 passengers. It has a stretched fuselage which was the first derivative of the ba ...

Airbus A330-200 The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A3 ...

Airbus A330-300 The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus. Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A34 ...

Airbus A340-200 The Airbus A340 is a long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 quadjet in parallel wi ...

Antonov An-2 The Antonov An-2 ("kukuruznik"—corn crop duster; USAF/DoD reporting name Type 22, NATO reporting name Colt) is a Soviet mass-produced single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft designed and manufactured by the Antonov Design Bure ...

* Antonov An-30 *

ATR 72-200 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed by ...

ATR 72-500 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed ...

Boeing 707-320 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...

Boeing 707-320B The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...

* Boeing 707-320C *

Boeing 727-200 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...

Boeing 737-300 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Februa ...

* Boeing 767-200ER *

* Boeing 777-200ER *

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...

Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960 ...

Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with t ...

* Ilyushin Il-14G *

* Tupolev Tu-134A *

Tupolev Tu-134B The Tupolev Tu-134 ( NATO reporting name: Crusty) is a twin-engined, narrow-body jet airliner built in the Soviet Union for short and medium-haul routes from 1966 to 1989. The original version featured a glazed-nose design and, like certain o ...

Services

Entertainment

On flights operated using

Airbus A350 The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner developed and produced by Airbus. The first A350 design proposed by Airbus in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the A330 ...

and

Boeing 787 The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body jet airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, ...

, Vietnam Airlines offers

In-flight entertainment In-flight entertainment (IFE) refers to the entertainment available to aircraft passengers during a flight. In 1936, the airship '' Hindenburg'' offered passengers a piano, lounge, dining room, smoking room, and bar during the -day flight betwee ...

via personal televisions. On flights operated using Airbus A321neo, Vietnam Airlines offers

via personal devices. Entertainment options consist of films, games, TV programmes, audiobooks and music. Vietnam Airlines offers two in-flight magazines, ''Heritage'' and ''Heritage Fashion'', in addition to other reading material.

Cabins

;Business

Business class Business class is a travel class available on many commercial airlines and rail lines, known by brand names which vary, by airline or rail company. In the airline industry, it was originally intended as an intermediate level of service between ...

is the highest of three cabin classes offered by the airline. As is the case with business class cabins in most airlines, the amenities offered in this class are substantially different from economy class, and more services and products are available. On

s, recliner seats are offered, laid out in a 2-2 configuration. The seat offers 45 inch of pitch, 10 degree of recline as well as foot and leg rest. On Boeing 787s and

s, lie-flat seats in a 1-2-1 configuration are offered. A 15.4 inch entertainment screen is available on the two aircraft. Seats are arranged in a reverse herringbone configuration on

and staggered seating is available on

. Refreshments are offered on flights over 90 minutes, with hot meals available on flights that are longer than two hours. ; Vietnam Airlines' premium economy class has a wider seat width and legroom compared to Economy with of seat pitch and 7-8 inches of recline. This class is offered only on flights operated by

Boeing 787 Dreamliner The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American Wide-body aircraft, wide-body jet airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After dropping its unconventional Boeing Sonic Cruiser, Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced th ...

. On every flight featuring Premium Economy, hot meals are served with an extensive menu of Vietnamese delicacies and popular world cuisine. Personal care bags with essential amenities are also provided. Premiere brand cosmetics and aqua water are available in the restroom during longer flights. Refreshments are served on flights over 90 minutes, with hot meals available on flights that are longer than two hours. ;Economy A_Vietnam_Airlines_Economy_Class_meal

Economy class Economy class, also called third class, coach class, steerage, or to distinguish it from the slightly more expensive premium economy class, standard economy class or budget economy class, is the lowest travel class of seating in air travel, rail ...

is available on all flights operated by Vietnam Airlines. Seats in this cabin feature seats in width. Seat pitch on this cabin class is , while seat recline ranges from 6 to 13°(5-6 inches). Refreshments are offered on flights over 90 minutes, with hot meals available on flights that are longer than two hours.

Accidents and incidents

According to ''

Aviation Safety Network The Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) is an independent, nonprofit, international organization concerning research, education, advocacy, and communications in the field of aviation safety. FSF brings together aviation professionals from all sectors ...

'', Vietnam Airlines experienced six accidents/incidents since 1951, with three of them leading to fatalities. All of the deadly accidents occurred on final approach, and all involved Soviet-built aircraft. The deadliest one took place on 19 September 1988, when a Tupolev Tu-134A crashed on approach to

Don Mueang International Airport Don Mueang International Airport ( th, ท่าอากาศยานดอนเมือง, , , or colloquially as , ) is one of two international airports serving the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, the other one being Suvarnabhumi Airp ...

, killing 76 of 90 occupants aboard. The second-deadliest accident occurred on 3 September 1997, when a Tupolev Tu-134B-3 crashed after hitting trees on approach to

Phnom Penh International Airport Phnom Penh International Airport ( km, អាកាសយានដ្ឋានអន្តរជាតិភ្នំពេញ; french: Aéroport international de Phnom Penh) is the busiest and largest airport in Cambodia, occupying a land ar ...

; the death toll rose to 65. The third-deadliest accident occurred on 14 November 1992, when a

crashed on approach to Nha Trang Airport, killing 30 of 31 occupants aboard. The airline has also experienced a

hijacking Hijacking may refer to: Common usage Computing and technology * Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth * Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand * Browser hijacking * Clickjacking (including ''like ...

episode in 1992, without any recorded fatality.

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*
Vietnam Airlines Cargo Services
* {{Authority control Airlines of Vietnam Airlines established in 1956 Government-owned airlines Government-owned companies of Vietnam Vietnamese brands SkyTeam Companies based in Hanoi 1956 establishments in North Vietnam