Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines plans to launch a direct flight from Berlin to Hanoi on June 25.

Vietnam Airlines aims to become Southeast Asia's second-biggest full-service carrier by the end of the decade as it more than doubles its fleet in a bid to surpass Thai Airways International Pcl (THAI) and Malaysian Airline System Bhd. (MAS)

Budget carrier VietJetAir last Thursday announced the launch of their new routes between HCM City and Danang, which will go into service on April 27, and between Hanoi and Nha Trang, which will begin on May 19.

A new wave of Eastern European airliners offering services connecting Vietnam to their countries has emerged, said Do Xuan Quang, CEO of airline dealer Vector Aviation.

AirAsia has just flown to the central coastal city of Danang as the third international airport in Vietnam that the leading low-cost carrier in Asia services.

The Ministry of Finance has green-lighted the airliners' proposal to hike the ceiling prices of domestic flights by up to 20 percent as of December 15.

Since the HCM City-Nanning-Chengdu service was launched a half year ago, China's Sichuan Airlines is considering daily flights to HCM City instead of two weekly flights as now.

Air Mekong will operate an extra 50 flights on the routes mostly connected to tourist destinations from December 23 to January 3 to cater to surging air travel demand during the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays.

Private airline VietJet Air said it would operate as a low-cost carrier with its first commercial flight next month.

The People's Court of HCM City has ruled that bankrupt carrier Indochina Airlines (ICA) has to pay its $1.3 million debt to the Asian Commercial Bank (ACB) following the latter's lawsuit over a letter of credit guarantee dispute.

Jetstar is supporting a shake-up in the ownership of its troubled Vietnamese offshoot, Jetstar Pacific, in a deal that will result in it and the national flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines, carving up the south-east Asian nation's travel market into low-cost and premium segments.

KUALA LUMPUR - AirAsia Bhd, the leading and largest low-cost carrier in Asia, says it is striving to touch 80 per cent total passenger load monthly for its new route to Da Nang, Vietnam.

HANOI - Vietnam Airlines is considering entering Asia's booming low-cost aviation sector with a new offshoot, while aiming to build its home base into a major entry point for Indochina, its chief says.

BANGKOK - Speculations have been abounding over the destiny of AirAsia's joint venture with Vietjet in Vietnam. The agreement signed in early March 2010 announced that AirAsia had acquire a 30% equity stake in VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Company (VietJet Air), the ticket entry to establish a Vietnam-based joint venture low-cost airline.

Aviation authorities are considering auctioning a Boeing 727 which has been left at the airport in Hanoi for the past four years by a Cambodian airline, VnExpress reported Saturday.