Vietnam Airlines to launch new routes to Europe

Vietnam Airlines will launch two new routes connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with Germany’s Munich starting October.

The state-owned carrier said Tuesday that it will use the wide-body Boeing 787 aircraft for the routes.

The Hanoi-Munich route will have two flights per week, departing on Friday and Sunday and returning on Monday and Saturday.

The HCMC-Munich route will have one flight per week, leaving on Monday and returning on Tuesday. Starting in December, another flight will be added every Wednesday.

Vietnam Airlines is the only Vietnamese airline to have direct routes to Europe.

Private carrier Bamboo Airways used to operate flights to Germany and the U.K. but had shut them down since the end of last year as part of its business strategy change.

Munich is the third-largest city in Germany and an economic, cultural, and transport hub. It is also famous for its mix of ancient and modern architectural structures and for the Oktoberfest beer festival, which is held every October.

With the new routes Vietnam Airlines will have four routes from Vietnam to Germany, including the Hanoi and HCMC routes to Frankfurt. It also has flights from Vietnam’s two biggest cities to Paris and London.

The carrier’s chairman Dang Ngoc Hoa said in January that it would open more international routes this year, with possible destinations being Milan, Copenhagen, Seattle and Vancouver.