Vietnam Airlines will soon launch direct flights between Ho Chi Minh City and San Francisco, becoming the first and so far only Vietnamese airline to operate a direct route to the United States.
From November 28, 2021, Vietnam Airlines will send its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) from Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) twice a week.
The outbound flight to SFO is expected to take 13 hours and 50 minutes, and the return flight to Vietnam will take 16 hours and 40 minutes. The airline plans to operate the route twice a week throughout December 2021, and will eventually switch to daily flights once COVID-19 travel restrictions ease. It also plans to use its A350 aircraft for this route in the future.
The airline’s expansion into the United States comes after Vietnam announced plans to resume international flights for the first time since March 2020.
It also triumphed over rival Bamboo Airways as the first Vietnamese airline to receive an official FAA grant to operate in the United States.
On November 16, Vietnam Airlines officially received permission to operate nonstop commercial flights between Vietnam and the United States and became the first and only Vietnamese carrier to be permitted to do so.#VietnamAirlines #4StarAirline #4Stars4You #United States #TSA pic.twitter.com/0sJvIntkli
—Vietnam Airlines (@VietnamAirlines) November 16, 2021
image source: vietnam airlines
The airline made the announcement on social media on November 16, 2021. On the same day, Vietnam Airlines also worked with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) to organize a forum on “Promoting Trade between Vietnam and the United States in the New Context”.
