A ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of its route to Russia was held on the occasion of the official visit to Russia by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh highly appreciated the carrier’s effort in establishing a bridge of cooperation in various fields of economy, science, education, culture and tourism between the two countries.
With its strategic investment projects, Vietnam Airlines is expected to contribute to raise bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and Russia up to US$10 billion by 2020.
Vietnam Airlines opened its first route from Vietnam to Russia on July 7, 1993 with stopovers in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Dubai or Berlin. Direct flights connecting the two countries, starting in 2005, has increased the number of passengers up to 10 times greater than it was before.
Russia is among the top ten tourism market in Vietnam with an average annual growth of 30 percent. In 2017, the total number of tourists travelling between the two countries was more than 1.35 million, including the Russian travellers accounting for 80 percent.
The national flag carrier has announced that it has replaced its Airbus A330 with Boeing's (BA) wide-body aircrafts on Hanoi-Moscow route, starting March 27. The carrier’s revenue from passengers and cargo increased by 14 and 69 percent, over the same period last year.
On this occasion, Vietnam Airlines and the Russian flag carrier Aeroflo signed a strategic cooperation agreement, marking the development of cooperation between two carriers and the aviation industry of the two nations.
Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh speaks at the ceremony.
