US airlines are battling for rights to offer services to Vietnam following the recent signing of a codeshare agreement between Washington and Hanoi.
Delta Air Lines was the first to apply for the rights in March, saying in a US Department of Transportation (DoT) filing that it wanted to serve Vietnam through a tie-up with Air France. Delta wants to add its code to its partner's flights between Paris and Ho Chi Minh City via Singapore, and those between Paris and Hanoi via Bangkok.
United Airlines followed Delta by applying to codeshare on Thai Airways International's Vietnam flights via Bangkok and, at a later date, with third Star Alliance member Lufthansa via Frankfurt.
Soon after Delta and United Airlines filed their applications, Northwest Airlines called on the DoT to delay awarding the new rights until its own application was ready, arguing that its two rivals would take up all the available allocations.
Northwest aims to codeshare on six weekly flights with Malaysia Airlines through Kuala Lumpur to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
While the USA-Vietnam codeshare agreement allows for airlines from both sides to offer 21 weekly frequencies, United is asking for 14 while Delta is seeking the other seven. Northwest says its rivals are trying to crowd out other airlines.
American Airlines complicated matters by seeking authorisation for a thrice-weekly service to Ho Chi Minh City through a codeshare with Swissair. Swissair flies to Ho Chi Minh from Zürich via Singapore.
The USA-Vietnam codeshare agreement was signed in early March and is described as a "memorandum of discussions". It is seen as the first step towards the signing of a full air services agreement that would allow independent flights by carriers from each side. Formal air services talks are due to open in Washington DC on 14 June.
Source: Airline Business
