Next year, flying from the U.S. to Vietnam will be easier than ever, thanks to two Vietnamese air carriers launching new nonstop flights from the West Coast. Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways, both based in Hanoi, have plans to operate routes into San Francisco in 2022.
In fact, Vietnam Airlines’ first U.S. route is already officially under way. Earlier this week, the carrier launched its inaugural flight from Ho Chi Minh City into San Francisco International Airport. The flight, already notable for being a rare nonstop route, was historic in other ways, too: It was the first-ever regularly scheduled flight operated between the U.S. and Vietnam. The launch of the route marks “a new milestone for Vietnam Airlines and Vietnam’s aviation,” the airline’s CEO Le Hong Ha said in a statement on Monday.
The carrier will operate two flights per week on the route with a wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. On board, the plane will be outfitted with 28 lie-flat business-class seats, 35 premium economy seats, and 211 seats in regular economy, according to industry site Airline Geeks; fares for economy seats will start around $1,000 for round-trip flights. Although it is nonstop, the route is still quite lengthy: on the eastbound leg, flight times clock in at nearly 14 hours, while westbound flights will be almost 17 hours long, Airline Geeks says. In honor of its new California destination, the airline also says it will serve wine from Napa Valley on board paired with cheeses and other dishes from the U.S.
Vietnam Airlines is also a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance, which includes carriers like Delta and Air France. That means U.S. travelers can redeem Delta SkyMiles to book flights on Vietnam Airlines or earn Delta miles while flying the Hanoi-based carrier.
While the carrier will eventually expand the route to operate seven days a week, those plans are currently on hold due to COVID-19 restrictions. Also potentially in the works? A second route, possibly between Los Angeles and Hanoi, reports Airline Geeks.
According to news outlet Vietnam Plus, the route has been in the works for 20 years. In that time, Vietnam Airlines has expanded to be one of the largest carriers in Southeast Asia, with 29 international destinations in its route network. “We are grateful to Vietnam Airlines for making San Francisco their first U.S. destination, and we are confident this new service will be a success,” Ivar C. Satero, SFO’s director, said in a statement.
Additionally, with the launch of its San Francisco route Vietnam Airlines beat out competitor Bamboo Airways, which has also been racing to secure a regular nonstop route to the West Coast. Bamboo Airways, a much newer, rapidly expanding upstart founded in 2017, operated an initial test flight in September between Hanoi and San Francisco. While that first test flight was a success, the carrier is still awaiting official clearance from the FAA to launch a regular route.
First, Bamboo Airways needs to fly several more demonstration flights from Hanoi and Da Nang to San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles, according to Airline Geeks, with the hope of launching one of the nonstop routes in early 2022. Similar to Vietnam Airlines, Bamboo Airways’ inaugural route will likely be a nonstop flight from Ho Chi Minh City into SFO, as the airline signed a memorandum of understanding with San Francisco airport officials in September to launch that route next year.
But the similarities don’t end there: Bamboo Airways is also using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft on its flights to the U.S., also outfitted with three cabin classes: business class with lie-flat seats, premium economy, and regular economy. The airline plans to start with four flights per week on the route, with hopes of soon expanding service to seven days a week, pending government approvals.
