INTERVIEW VIETNAM AIRLINES
In person with... LUCY D’SILVA
Selling Long Haul’s Alan Orbell speaks with Lucy D'Silva, Account Manager UK for Vietnam Airlines about the airline’s new direct flights out of London Gatwick
LUCY D’SILVA Account Manager UK, Vietnam Airlines
Selling Long Haul: Can you give us a little background on Vietnam Airlines’ history? Lucy D’Silva: Vietnam Airlines dates back to 1956, when the airline began with flights between Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi and vice versa. The airline’s first international flight was to Beijing in the 1970s. Vientiane, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Singapore soon followed in the 80’s and 90’s. In 1993 Vietnam Airlines was officially established as the country’s national flag carrier flying to further domestic, regional & international destinations.
What prompted the decision to start flying to the UK now? Launching the direct route is a further breakthrough in our European route development strategy. Vietnam is fast becoming one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Asia-Pacific region with just over 94,000 passenger arrivals from the UK in 2010. The traffic growth and commercial opportunities arising from the UK market to Vietnam over the period 2008-2010 gave sufficient grounds for Vietnam Airlines to begin a service from the UK from December 2011.
What services and aircraft are you offering between the UK and Vietnam? At present we offer four weekly flights to Vietnam. Two flights to Hanoi which operate on Tuesday and Friday and two to Ho Chi Minh City which
operate each Wednesday and Saturday. Our flights depart London Gatwick at midday with an arrival time in Vietnam the following morning at 06:30 (Hanoi) and 07:10 (Ho Chi Minh City) with smooth onward connections to our key destinations within Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma. We operate all flights on Boeing 777- 200ER aircraft with Economy, Economy Deluxe and Business Class cabins – all with seat-back entertainment systems.
How successful have the services been during the first month of operation? December and the first half on January have been in line with our expectations and have given us positive results. In line with market trends, traffic drops off towards the end of January and we have a strategy in place for the low season.
Which is more important on the ex-UK route, business or leisure traffic? Leisure market in total will contribute up to 55-60% of total traffic generated from the UK. Vietnam is competing with Thailand, Malaysia and Bali for this type of traffic. Business traffic will always run around 15-20% of total traffic which will grow in parallel with UK commercial interest development in Vietnam and Indochina.
A number of Asian routes are opening up from Gatwick. Why is this? It’s because of the forward-thinking Gatwick airport management policy, which is to promote their airport for new and emerging destinations in the Far East region and implementing the same. Since Vietnam Airlines, it is now a matter of public record that Air China, Korean Airlines, andHong King Airlines, to name a few, will fly from Gatwick Airport.
How important will travel agents be to the success of Vietnam Airlines’ new services? The travel trade will generate at least 95% of our business in the UK. They are absolutely vital to our progress in the UK market.
“The travel trade will generate at least 95% of our business in the UK. They are absolutely vital to our progress”
Will Vietnam Airlines be involved with fam trips and training for agents? Yes we are on an on-going basis.
What is the major appeal of Vietnam as a tourism destination? Having travelled to Vietnam myself, I would say the diverse interest of the country; its scenery, cuisine, culture, history, and the many and varied touring opportunities and places to visit throughout the country are key. For example, the World Heritage area in Halong Bay with its limestone caves and cruising options to view these wonderful sights and islands is an outstanding attraction. Vietnam is known for its white sand beaches and crystal clear blue sea. The country has many and varied beach resorts in Danang, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Phan Thiet, Vung Thao and then
the off shore island resorts of Con Dao Island in the South China Sea and Phu Quoc Island in the Gulf of Thailand. All easily accessible from Ho Chi Minh City on an hour’s flight with Vietnam Airlines. Vietnam is also an excellent base to
discover the rest of Indochina (Cambodia, Laos) and Myanmar. Each country is unique with its own beauty in culture, history and unspoilt nature which offers an unforgettably authentic Asian experience. Of course it helps now that we fly
direct and reducing journey times to Vietnam by as much as seven hours. Our passengers can easily connect to our extensive network which links all UNESCO World Heritage cities in the region. We very much look forward to welcoming you and your clients on-board our flights. •
www.sellinglonghaul.com • February 2012 29
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