Jet Airways launches daily Vietnam-India service on codeshare deal

The new flight will connect Ho Chi Minh City to the Indian airline's primary hubs in Delhi and Mumbai via Bangkok with direct and codeshare flights, the carrier said in a press release today.

It also offers connections to over 53 destinations in India and beyond to Paris, London Heathrow, North America, and the Persian Gulf.

A codeshare agreement, also simply called a codeshare, is an aviation business arrangement where two or more airlines share the same flight.

On September 15, Jet Airways and Vietnam Airlines, its codeshare partner, signed an MoU which stipulated that the two carriers would operate and jointly promote direct air services.

As part of the MoU, Vietnam Airlines will place its code on Jet Airways flights to India and vice versa.

“Jet Airways will now be able to offer its guests unmatched connectivity and seamless travel from Vietnam to India via Bangkok,” the airline said.

It will deploy a Boeing 737-800 Next Generation aircraft on this route, according to the airline.

“Jet Airways is delighted to provide a direct link from Ho Chi Minh City to Delhi via Bangkok and an all-new daily direct frequency from Bangkok to Mumbai, to enable guests to connect to multiple destinations within India and to Jet Airways' international service,” airline CEO Cramer Bal said in a statement.

“We are particularly happy to provide convenient travel options to our guests from Vietnam wanting to visit India's vast trail covering famous Buddhist pilgrimage centers.”

Bal said both Vietnam and Thailand are emerging as increasingly popular destinations for tourism, trade, and investment in Asia and “it was only logical for Jet Airways to link the two cities.”

“This is also in line with India's ‘look east’ policy which seeks to re-establish stronger ties with our traditional neighbors in the East and create winning partnerships,” he added.

India and Vietnam have been strategic trade and investment partners since the establishment of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2010.

The two also remain very popular destinations for Buddhist pilgrimages and leisure travelers, according to Jet Airways.

India has become a major importer of Vietnamese goods, with Vietnam's exports to the Indian market growing by 46 percent annually from 2008 to 2012, the airline said, citing the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The increase in trade activity can be attributed to the positive influence of the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement, it said.

Jet Airways currently operates a fleet of 113 aircraft, according to the company’s profile. The airline offers flights to 74 destinations.