The agreement was signed in the presence of Vietnam's State President Truong Tan Sang, who is visiting India, as well as Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) President Muthuraman, and members of the Vietnamese delegation.

The two airlines in a joint statement quoted President Truong Tan Sang to believe that the agreement would be translated into a fruitful cooperation between the two carriers, saying that relationship development between the two countries needed such a partnership.

Jet Airways and Vietnam Airlines will jointly evaluate and carry out services between India and Vietnam subject to approval of respective governments. This direct flight partnership between the two airlines is expected to give a boost to development of tourism, investment and trade relations between the two countries.

Pham Ngoc Minh, president and CEO of Vietnam Airlines, said in the statement that the MOU with Jet Airways as India's largest private airline was one step to realise the two countries' strategic partnership commitment.

"We believe that the direct flights between India and Vietnam shall bring benefits to our customers, creating all favourable conditions to bring the two countries traditional and multi-faceted relationship to a more practical and efficient level," Minh said.

Naresh Goyal, chair of Jet Airways, said this agreement with Vietnam Airlines was an integral part of the carrier's strategy for increased international growth and providing seamless service for travellers between India andVietnam.

"Today's milestone is a momentous occasion in our history and we look forward to the future of cooperation and collaboration withVietnam Airlines, bringing greater benefits to our distinguished passengers," Goyal said.

There is not any direct flight between India and Vietnam now. Therefore, passengers have to travel with Thai Airways, Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and other carriers between the two countries via Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Vietnam Airlines currently operates more than 300 daily flights on 83 routes to 20 domestic and 26 international destinations. The national flag air carrier plans to expand its fleet of 72 modern aircraft to 115 by 2015 and 170 by 2020.

Jet Airways and its subsidiary JetLite now operate a fleet of 116 aircraft, including 10 Boeing 777-300 ER, 12 Airbus A330-200, 74 Boeing 737-700/800/900 and 20 modern ATR 72-500 aircraft. The airline offers 620 daily flights to 80 destinations in India and beyond.

The Saigon Times - October 15, 2011