8 NEWS Tri Hung Ngo
8 NEWS Tri Hung Ngo General Manager, Vietnam Airlines, Germany Despite growing competition, Vietnam’s national carrier is gaining market share with improved inflight services on brand new aircraft and the largest network of any carrier in the country. IATA forecasts that passenger traffic in Vietnam is due to rise from 38 million in 2016 to 150 million by 2035, almost a four-fold increase. “We had an excellent year in 2017,” says Tri Hung Ngo, General Manager of Vietnam Airlines in Germany. “Our group – which comprises Vietnam Airlines and our affiliate airlines Jetstar Pacific and VASCO – transported 26.5 Vietnam Airlines’ Irresistible Rise million passengers on nearly 180,000 flights, which is up 6.7% over the previous year. We have a market share of 60% on domestic routes and close to 33% on international routes.” Total consolidated revenue of Vietnam Airlines and its subsidiaries was estimated at .9 bn, while its consolidated pre-tax profit reached a record 3.6 m, a year-on-year increase of 8.3%. Vietnam Airlines alone managed to record a pre-tax profit of US.4 m, an increase of 8% compared to 2016. The carrier is gaining market share in Europe. “We fly in Western Europe to three destinations – Frankfurt, London Heathrow and Paris CDG. We offer to European passengers flexible options with two daily flights linking Paris CDG to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, 10 weekly flights from Frankfurt to both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as a daily service from London Heathrow,” says Hung Ngo. Vietnam Airlines also flies also up to three times a week from Hanoi to Moscow- Domodedovo. “We launched in Frankfurt this year our brand new Airbus A350-900 XWB offering a state-of-the-art products with three classes of service – Business, Premium Economy and Economy. With our ten frequencies, we now link six times a week to Hanoi, and four times a week Ho Chi Minh City, giving even more An emerging Asian giant, the number one Vietnam carrier aims to quadruple passenger numbers in the country by 2035 WE HAVE A MARKET SHARE OF 60% ON DOMESTIC ROUTES AND CLOSE TO 33% ON INTERNATIONAL ROUTES. flexibility to our customers,” he adds. From Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, passengers will find connections to over 20 destinations in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, China, Japan and South Korea, as well as to 20 domestic destinations. “In the past, we had long connecting times for A350 XWB Vietnam Airlines our flights toward Australia but the opening of a new route between Hanoi and Sydney has cut transfer time in our Hanoi hub to less than three hours from Europe,” says Hung Ngo. Beside Vietnam, European passengers flying on Vietnam Airlines connect mostly to Cambodia and Laos. “In the Greater Mekong subregion, we offer some of the best connections to former countries of French Indochina. We fly ten times a day to Siem Reap/Angkor, up to five times a day to Phnom Penh, as well as up to three times daily to Luang Prabang and Vientiane in Laos. We also recently launched direct flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Sihanoukville in Southern Cambodia,” he adds. In the near future, Vietnam Airlines is hoping to launch a new route to Los Angeles, its first in North America. “We now wait for the approval of US civil aviation authorities,” says Hung Ngo. The aircraft flying the new US route will be the brand new Airbus A350- 900. “We will continue to offer more frequencies on our current network, probably going to a double-daily service to Frankfurt as Germany remains a very important market for us. We however look at Berlin as a new destination. It has actually good potential as Berlin has the largest number of Vietnamese residing in Germany,” he says Hall 26c / Stand 313 © Airbus SAS 2015 - photo by master films / P. Masclet ITB BERLIN NEWS • Friday 9 th March 2018 www.itb-berlin-news.com
NEWS 9 Confidence Is in the Air for Qatar Airways The Gulf airline confirms its commitment to grow its destinations, despite a blockade of the carrier within its region. Having been voted the world’s best airline in 2017, Qatar Airways has opened 11 new destinations in the past year, with more to come in 2018/19, said Qatar Airways CEO and President, Akbar Al Baker at an ITB Berlin press conference. “Actually, the attempt to undermine our independence made us even more determined to keep our march ahead. We feel even prouder as a nation,” Al Baker said of the recent diplomatic struggles within the Gulf region. In Europe, Qatar Airways will open new routes to Bodrum, Cardiff, Lisbon, London Gatwick, Luxemburg, Malaga, Malta, Mykonos, Tallinn and Thessaloniki; in Asia, it will add Antalya and Hatyai in Turkey, Cebu and Davao in the Philippines, Danang in Vietnam and Langkawi in Malaysia. “We lost 19 destinations but we open 11 others. 2018/2019 will again see a range of destinations being added”, the Qatar Airways CEO reiterated. The new Q Suite superior business class product will be included in the entire fleet of Qatar Airways by the end of next year. “We still work to find a solution to equip our Airbus A380 and Boeing B777LR,” said Al Baker. In Germany, the Q Suite will be introduced from March to flights from Frankfurt, and by the end of summer from Berlin and Munich. In Europe, Qatar Airways is working quickly on the launch of the rebranded Meridiana, which is becoming Air Italy. “We are creating a new national carrier for Italy. It will offer the same high quality standards as Qatar Airways, and will fly around the world from Milan-Malpensa with a fleet of brand new aircrafts,” said Al Baker. The Gulf airline has also recently launched a new Airbus A350-1000 flying from Doha to London. Meanwhile, 2019 will again be a year of novelties, with the introduction of a new economy class seat. “Something revolutionary again”, promised Al Baker Hall 2.2 / Stand 207, 208 ITB BERLIN NEWS • Friday 9 th March 2018
