Hanoi: Vietnam Airlines plans to open a direct route from London to Hanoi and Saigon next year, the 40th anniversary of Ho Chi Minh's death.
For the past 12 years, British passengers have had to travel via Paris or Frankfurt. David Cook, the Vietnamese carrier's London office general manager, says it plans to fly out of Gatwick, hopefully from the end of October 2009. The airline expects to use a Boeing 777 on the route, with 25 Business Class seats and 54 Economy Deluxe.
Visitor numbers from the UK last year rose by around 30 per cent. Trade was given a boost earlier this year when Gordon Brown met Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung, who was leading a 200-strong trade delegation.
Six new wide-bodied aircraft have been added to the fleet, increasing the total to 49, including turbo-props, and it has announced plans to buy 12 Boeing 787s, in addition to the 10 Airbus A350-900s and 20 smaller A321s on order.
All Vietnam Airlines' international flights to and from Ho Chi Minh City were due to be switched to the newly constructed Tan Son Nhat terminal on August 28.