Having been granted slots, can Vietnamese airlines fly directly to the US?

Being granted takeoff and landing slots at US airport doesn’t mean that Vietnamese airlines can fly directly to the US as many procedures are still needed to be completed. (Photo: Vietnam+)

Hanoi (VNA) - Two Vietnamese airlines that have been granted slots by the US airport for hourly takeoffs and landings are Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways, showing their determination to launch plans to open regular direct flights to the US.

However, this does not mean that Vietnamese airlines can fly directly to the US because there are still many procedures to complete.

On May 7, Bamboo Airways announced that it had just been granted a slot to fly to Los Angeles and San Francisco airports starting from September 1. The airline aims to launch commercial non-stop flights between Ho Chi Minh City and San Francisco from September 2021, with an initial frequency of about 4 flights per week. The frequency will be gradually increased to 7 flights per week, based on the actual situation. Bamboo Airways is also asking the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to license a charter flight to the US.

Meanwhile, Vietnam Airlines has had flight slots at US airports since 2 years ago. In early September 2020, Vietnam Airlines was granted a license by the US Department of Transportation to conduct commercial flights to the US, becoming the first Vietnamese airline to have this license. Currently, the airline has moved to the next steps, including submitting an application for permission to the US Air Transport Security Administration (TSA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The national flag carrier is also urgently training personnel, preparing aircraft, selling network, aiming to be the first airline to fly regularly and directly to the US. Most recently, in April 2021, Vietnam Airlines was approved by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to issue an Airbus A350 operating certificate on its route to the US (before that, it could only operate Boeing 787).

In 2020, Vietnam Airlines has performed more than 20 charter flights between Vietnam and the US to repatriate citizens, goods and experts. Up to now, Vietnam Airlines is the airline that has made the most strides in meeting the conditions for direct flights to the US.

Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways both aim to become the first Vietnamese airline to fly directly to the US on a regular basis.

Currently, passengers from Vietnam to the US usually have to transit in Hong Kong, Taiwan (China) or the Republic of Korea …, with a flying duration of about 20 hours, including transit. If there is a direct flight, flight time will be shortened to about 15-16 hours.

Vietnam Airlines is promoting flight plans to the US. (Photo: Vietnam+)

Currently, flights to the US face big competition as many other airlines also operate the route from Vietnam to the US, according to a Vietnam Airlines representative.

Therefore, right from the 2010s, Vietnam Airlines has cooperated with Delta Airlines to fly to the US under the codeshare form, in order to explore the Vietnam-US market and at the same time create habits for passengers to fly to the US on Vietnam Airlines flights, aiming to conduct commercial flights to the US in 2022.

An aviation expert recognizes that operating a direct Vietnam-US route is not easy because according to a previous calculation, it takes 5-10 years for airlines to break even on this route. It is estimated that the loss in the first years is at least 30-50 million USD per year.

On the other hand, the current period depends on the situation of the COVID-19 epidemic in the world, travel demand is limited, airlines are facing difficulties and financial losses... Therefore, experts say that it is very unlikely that Vietnamese airlines will fly directly to the US in 2021./.