What are the advantages of putting the Airbus A350-900 into service?
Nguyen Quoc Phuong - We are very proud to be the second carrier in the world, after Qatar Airways, to put the new aircraft into service. We are even the first in Asia, which is extremely positive. in terms of image. This demonstrates that Vietnam Airlines has reached a certain maturity by offering a product equivalent to the best-known carriers in Asia, and even a product of superior quality, which meets the requirements of all our passengers. What's more, the Airbus A350 is an opportunity to offer an improved in-flight service. Between now and the end of the year, we will be bringing three of these aircraft into service, out of an order for fourteen.
Can you tell us more about this new on-board service?
Nguyen Quoc Phuong - We have just completely reconfigured our business class. The 'herringbone' seating arrangement increases the sense of intimacy for each passenger, particularly when the seat reclines and becomes a bed. We are also offering larger video screens, the integrated wifi as well asone socket on each seat. Premium Economy has also been improved. It offers 45 seats, all equipped with a footrest and a better recline. We have also worked on new premium economy menus. Economy class passengers will certainly appreciate the new aircraft. Wider windows provide more light, the baggage compartments are larger and we have improved the video offer. With this programme to improve our services, we want to achieve Skytrax four-star status. Vietnam Airlines, on the other hand, still faces a number of problems with its ground services in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, including long queues at check-in and the lack of a proper baggage transfer service.
What improvements can be expected in the short term?
Nguyen Quoc Phuong - I have to admit that we still need to improve our ground services, which we are doing step by step. We have already introduced the Sky Priority service for Premium passengers, in line with Skyteam's recommendations. We are starting to introduce self-service check-in desksThis equipment should be fully operational by the end of the year in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. On the other hand, we still need to work on simplifying baggage transfers to avoid a disruption to passengers.
Vietnam Airlines also launched the Boeing 787 this year. On which routes can we find your new aircraft?
Nguyen Quoc Phuong - Europe is the first to benefit from both Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 aircraft. Frankfurt and London are now served by Boeing 787s, while the Airbus A350 is in service to Paris, the only European destination to have this aircraft on both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 will also be introduced to Korea and Japan. The introduction of these new aircraft will enable us tooffer more flights to Europeand switch to daily flights to London Heathrow. But we currently have no plans to open new routes. We are still waiting for a link to the United States.
Are you increasing your frequencies in France?
Nguyen Quoc Phuong - With our partner Air France-KLM, we offer 14 frequencies per week. Vietnam Airlines operates eleven flights to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and Air France operates three flights to Paris-Ho Chi Minh City.
Are you still positioning yourself as "Indochina's transporter"?
Nguyen Quoc Phuong - More than ever. For example, we have coordinated our flights with those of our subsidiary Cambodia Angkor Air, Cambodia's national airline. This means that we can now offer round-trip flights to and from Cambodia and Laos via Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. And this winter we are increasing our presence on the Vietnam-Myanmar route with 12 weekly flights instead of 8 previously.
New for Winter 2015-2016 on Vietnam Airlines :
- Hanoi-Kaohsiung (Taiwan): one daily flight instead of four weekly flights
- Hanoi-Rangoun: one daily flight instead of five weekly flights
- Danang-Jinan: two weekly flights
- Danang-Lanzhou: three weekly flights
- Danang- Nanchang: two weekly flights
- Ho Chi Minh City-Hangzhou: three weekly flights
- Ho Chi Minh City-Rangoun: five weekly flights instead of three
- Nha Trang-Beijing: three weekly flights
- Nha Trang-Hangzhou: two weekly flights
- Nha Trang-Nanning: three weekly flights
