At the Farnborough International Airshow, Turkish Airlines and Vietnam Airlines signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in order to “strengthen bilateral cooperation”, the Turkish airline said in a press release.
The agreement between the two companies aims to add business opportunities and improve connectivity between Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe. It also comes against the backdrop of a marked recovery in air transport activity.
Accordingly, Turkish Airlines and Vietnam Airlines will expand mutual cooperation in the passenger and air cargo segments. According to the airlines, they will also explore the possibility of establishing a codeshare agreement on routes between Istanbul (IST) and the Vietnamese cities of Hanoi (HAN) and Ho Chi Minh City (SGN).
If finalised, customers of both airlines would have greater access to connections on Turkish Airlines’ extensive network from its base in Istanbul. It would also add connectivity options to Vietnam Airlines’ destinations in Southeast Asia, Australia and China.
“Recovering from the crisis that pandemic brought to aviation sector, we all became aware of the crucial need of cooperation”, said Levent Konukcu, Chief Investment and Technology Officer of Turkish Airlines. “Our mutual desire and expectation are to enrich relations in many fields and provide more opportunities to our passengers”, he commented about the agreement.
Le Hong Ha, President and CEO of Vietnam Airlines, said that “cooperation between the two flag carriers will bring great benefits” to passengers and will “promote aviation connectivity, economic and cultural exchanges”.
Air cargo market
Both companies also confirmed that they will cooperate more closely on cargo operations. To this end, they announced the future implementation of a codeshare agreement, which is expected to come into force in 2023. The two airlines would also explore additional options to increase their bilateral collaboration in this segment. The air cargo market is currently growing globally, and the trend is expected to accelerate in the near future.
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