Vietnam Airlines and SkyTeam member Air France are to begin codesharing on Paris Charles de Gaulle services to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Under the agreement, Air France and Vietnam Airlines will jointly offer 11 weekly non-stop services between France and Vietnam from 28 March. Six of the services will be operated by Vietnam Airlines on Boeing 777-200s, while the remainder will be flown by Air France using Airbus A340-300s.
Both carriers will offer a three-class configuration, and will exchange a quota of seats on their services.
Codeshare
Vietnam Airlines and Air France are the only two direct scheduled operators on the routes. The two carriers are also considering expansion of the codeshare arrangement to cover Air France's European and North American networks and Vietnam Airlines' Asian network. Vietnam Airlines already uses Air France Industries in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to perform line maintenance on its A320s, Boeing 767s and 777s.
Finalisation of the codeshare deal with Air France is the first of two European airline deals currently being negotiated by Vietnam Airlines. A similar partnership with Star Alliance carrier Lufthansa is expected to be concluded shortly and to take effect by April.
Source: Flight Daily News
