Vietnam Air uses bigger aircraft for Tokyo-Hanoi service

Vietnam Airlines will operate larger aircraft for its flights between Tokyo and Hanoi to meet the rising demand of Vietnamese nationals traveling home after the earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan last week.

The national flagship carrier announced on Wednesday that it would use the Boeing B777 configured with 309 to 324 seats rather than the 282-seat Airbus A330 it usually had for the Hanoi-Tokyo service until March 20.

The decision came after ticketing agents in Hanoi and HCMC said they had seen strong demand for booking seats on Vietnam Airlines flights from Japan to Vietnam, and that tickets had become scarce for certain flights throughout this week.

The airline currently has 46 weekly direct flights on eight routes linking Hanoi and HCMC with the Japanese cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka.

It is also offering discount tickets for people who book flights in Vietnam for Vietnamese relatives to travel from Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka to Hanoi and HCMC until March 31. The single ticket starts from US$430, exclusive of airport tax and surcharges, which is at least 50% less than bookings made in Japan.

Vietnam Airlines confirmed that their offices in the four main cities of Japan are operating as normal. However, the carrier urged passengers to book tickets in Vietnam to ease work overload at those offices as a number of travel and ticketing agents in Tokyo remain closed.

Customers can contact Vietnam Airlines’ offices on (04) 38320320 or 1900545486 in Hanoi, (08) 38320320 in HCMC, and (0511) 3832320 in Danang.

Tags: Vietnam airlines, Vietnam aviation, Vietnam aviation industry, Vietnam aviation market