Direct routes will connect Tokyo with Da Nang and Saigon.
The six-hour flights from Saigon will begin on July 12, while the seven-hour Da Nang service will start on October 26, according to VnExpress. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc attended a ribbon-cutting event on July 1 for the announcement while in Japan attending the G20 summit.
“The rapid expansion of VietJet’s flight network to Japan will help the people of the two countries have more options for their sight-seeing travels and/or business trips,” explained Nguyen Thi Thuy Binh, VietJet's vice-president.
Earlier in the day, PM Phuc spoke at an event commemorating the 25th anniversary of Vietnam Airlines' first direct flight to Japan. Since that first Saigon-Osaka route, Vietnam has added 10 more between the two Asian nations, with an average of 80 flights a month.
Last year, 34,000 Vietnamese visited Japan, an annual increase of 36.7%, while 820,000 Japanese tourists visited Vietnam, a 3.6% rise over the previous year. The figures and additional routes are due, in part, to Vietnam's increased foreign travel and tourism efforts. Vietnamese also constitute the third-largest group of foreign workers in Japan, which also drives air travel.
Considering the recent high-profile airport construction plans, along with reports of overcrowding and pilot shortages, the boom in Vietnam’s aviation industry should come as no surprise. It is growing at the third-fastest pace in Asia-Pacific, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
[Photo via Flicker user Breaking News]
