Beginning in June, there will be direct flights from both Turkey and New Zealand to Vietnam.
According to Thanh Nien, Turkish Airlines will be running five direct flights a week from Istanbul to Vietnam's northern and southern hubs. Starting on June 27, three flights will travel from Ho Chi Minh City and the other two from Hanoi. This number will increase to seven flights a week from October 27.
Late last year, Air New Zealand also announced its plan to run three flights a week from Auckland to HCMC's Tan Son Nhat International Airport on a seasonal basis from June to October 2016. The 11-hour-long journey will be carried out by the airline's Boeing 767-300 aircraft.
Phu Quoc's airport also recently cooperated with China Southern Airlines to launch a regular service between Guangzhou and Phu Quoc starting in July, with three weekly flights taking place on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Bangkok Airways also announced its own plans to establish a new route from Bangkok to Da Nang starting on May 25.
Earlier this year, Vietnam saw record tourist arrivals, with a 19.9% increase over the first quarter of 2016. With this new round of expansion in Vietnam's air services, tourism to the country may be back on track after last year's troubling arrival numbers.
[Photo via Flickr user Eric Salard]
