Deputy Premier of Western Australia Rita Saffioti speaks at the event (Photo: VNA) Sydney (VNA) – National flag carrier VietnamAirlines recently announced a direct flight service between Ho Chi Minh Cityand Australia’s Perth city which is due to be put into operation on December 7.
Speaking at the ceremony, Premierof Western Australia Roger Cook said securing this new directflight between Vietnam and Perth opens up an abundance of opportunities betweenthe two destinations and represents a whole new inbound visitor market forWestern Australia's industry, tourism and hospitality sectors.
"We have a growingWestern Australian-Vietnamese community in our state, which has contributed toour social, economic and cultural development and this announcement willprovide better direct connections for the community whether it be for leisure,business or studying opportunities”, he added.
Meanwhile, Deputy Premierand Minister of Tourism of Western Australia Rita Saffioti said Vietnam is becomingan emerging tourism market for Western Australia, with 10,000 visitorstravelling into the state for the year up until March 2023, and these newflights will further bolster that with a further 43,000 people able to come ineach year.
"With flights startingin December, just in time for the peak summer season, I'm sure this route willbe very popular, and helps affirm our status as the Western Gateway toAustralia”, she said.
Flightsfrom Ho Chi Minh City No.VN791 will depart at 15:50 every Monday, Thursday, andSaturday and arrive in Perth at 23:05 on the same day (local time). Conversely,flights from Perth No.VN790 will depart at 00:50 every Tuesday, Friday, andSunday and arrive in Ho Chi Minh City at 06:10 the following day. Passengershave been able to purchase tickets for this route since September 1.
Withthe new route, Vietnam Airlines will operate 23 round-trip flights betweenVietnam and Australia each week, averaging 3 flights per day. The total numberof routes to Australia operated by Vietnam Airlines has increased to 5,including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City to Melbourne; Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City toSydney, and Ho Chi Minh City to Perth. All of these routes are served by modernwide-body aircraft such as the Airbus A350 or Boeing 787.
Perthis the capital city of Western Australia, one of the most economicallysignificant states in Australia and in the wider Asia-Pacific region.
Currently,there are around 300,000 Vietnamese and those of Vietnamese origin living andworking in Perth, the third biggest Australian market of Vietnam./.
