Vietnam Airlines opened its first route to the Russian Federation on July 7, 1993, with transits either at Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Dubai (United Arab Emirates) or Berlin (Germany). Subsequently, direct flights linking the two countries since 2005 have helped boost by 10 times the number of passengers from the previous periods. It is expected that Vietnam Airlines will have transported about 1.6 million passengers between Vietnam and Russia by the end of 2018, marking 25 years of cooperation.
Russia has always been among the top 10 countries with the most tourists coming to Vietnam, representing a high and sustainable growth of 30 percent per year in average. In 2017, the aviation market between the two countries reached a peak of more than 1.35 million passengers, 80 percent of them Russians visiting Vietnam.
In March 2018, Vietnam Airlines began flying its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft three times a week,plus a 4-star service based on Skytrax international standard. Customer and cargo turnovers have since grown 14 percent and 69 percent, respectively, from the same period in 2017.
Marking the 25-year cooperation, Vietnam Airlines and Russia’s national carrier Aeroflot have signed a strategic cooperation agreement, a new development step in their relationship as well as in the aviation industry of the two countries. The two airlines have pledged a flexible code-share cooperation, and will further expand to different areas in order to maximize the benefits of bilateral cooperation, bringing more benefits to customers.
Vietnam Airlines has regularly been organizing events such as the Culture Day, Cultural Week, fairs, exhibitions and seminars introducing the country, the people of Vietnam and the Russian Federation, contributing to promoting cultural exchange and tourism between the two countries. Vietnam Airlines’ efforts in investing and operating the Vietnam – Russia route also help continuously strengthen the bilateral ties in cultural exchange and tourism, placing Russia in the leading position among European nations with the number of visitors to Vietnam.