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| Thierry Beragnes of Air France introduces the non-stop services between Paris and Vietnam at the press conference in HCMC on Wednesday - Photo: Mong Binh |
Thierry Beragnes, Air France’s country manager in Vietnam, told the Daily after a press conference held in HCMC on Wednesday to introduce the new services that the carrier would leave Tan Son Nhat Airport for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris at 10:45 p.m. on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from November 2.
The services from Charles de Gaulle Airport will be at 11:25 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and land on Tan Son Nhat at 4:55 p.m. the next days.
Air France will use its Boeing 747-400 equipped with 40 business and 396 economy seats for the three weekly non-stop services, which Beragnes said would mark a new step in its development in the Vietnamese market.
Air France showed confidence in the Vietnamese market, which he said had changed for the better compared to six years ago when it suspended a code-share pact with Vietnam Airlines for non-stop flights from Paris, leaving the Vietnamese airline the sole operator of direct flights on this route.
“The economic context has changed and Vietnam on Thursday is quite different from six years ago in terms of development. An airline like Air France is really confident in the development of Vietnam,” Beragnes told reporters.
Air France will start to operate the new generation Boeing 777-300ER on the Paris-HCMC route in January to offer a full range of Air France in-flight products, including the new Premium Voyageur seat, which is positioned between the business and economy cabins.
Beragnes said passengers aboard the non-stop services would be served a choice of Vietnamese meals in all cabins in addition to the traditional French cuisine and wines.
From November, Air France will also join two weekly code-share services from HCMC and five frequencies from Hanoi, and these non-stop flights will be operated by Vietnam Airlines under an agreement between the two carriers.
Vietnam Airlines’ non-stop services will depart from HCMC at 11:10 p.m. on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and arrive in Paris at 6:30 a.m. the next days. The flights from Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi will take off at 11:55 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Beragnes said the flight and route changes underlined stronger cooperation between the two members of SkyTeam. The flagship carrier of Vietnam became a full member of the world’s second largest airline alliance on June 10.
The changes mean Air France will stop flying between Paris and Vietnam via Bangkok as it does currently. However, passengers can board Air France’s flights to Paris and then to other destinations in Europe and the world.
Air France now sells return fares from US$777 excluding taxes and fees until October 24 for the non-stop services from either HCMC or Hanoi to Europe between November 1 and March 31, 2011. Beragnes said customers would be able to purchase these promotional fares on www.airfrance.com.vn, booking offices and agents.
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