India’s Jet Airways officially inaugurated direct air routes between the
country’s cities of New Delhi and Mumbai and Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City
on November 5.
The move is part of a cooperation agreement
signed on October 28 between Jet Airways and Vietnam Airlines during
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to India.
Vietnamese
Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thanh and Jet Airways executives cut the
ribbon to officially launch the routes. He also attended a prayer
ceremony for the flights’ safe and effective operation.
After the
launch, Jet Airways Chief Commercial Officer Raj Sivakumar told
reporters that the opening of direct routes to HCM City aims to expand
the company’s operations in Southeast Asia, adding that the Vietnamese
southern city is its 22 nd international destination.
The firm plans to introduce more routes between India and ASEAN countries, including Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi.
Sivakumar
said direct air routes would help foster the Vietnam-India partnership
in various spheres, particularly tourism, noting that the countries held
a large potential for aviation cooperation since a number of Indian
travel agencies were offering tours to Vietnam.-VNA