United Airlines said it would launch daily flights between San Francisco and Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City in December, becoming the first US carrier to resume direct air links since the end of the Vietnam War.
The first flight will start on December 9, using 747-400 aircraft and will stopover in Hong Kong, the airline said in a statement on its web site.
Hanoi and Washington signed a landmark aviation agreement last December that allows direct air service for the first time since the war ended in 1975.
The 5 year agreement also permits unlimited code-sharing, under which carriers sell seats on each other’s flights.
United Airlines, which has an office in Vietnam, cited forecasts by the International Air Transport Association as saying Vietnam’s air travel industry would grow 10.5 percent a year in the next decade.
American Airlines also opened a Vietnam office in January and plans flights to the United States via Japan.
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July 24, 2004 at 5:28 am