The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has finalised its award of a Foreign Air Carrier Permit (FACP) to Vietnam Airlines (VN, Hanoi Noi Bai International), allowing the airline to start serving five cities in the US via Japan or Taiwan.
The order, issued on August 21, 2019, authorises Vietnam Airlines to operate:
- scheduled flights from Hanoi Noi Bai International and Ho Chi Minh City, via Osaka Kansai, Nagoya Chubu, and Taipei Taoyuan, to Los Angeles International, San Francisco, New York, Seattle Tacoma International, and Dallas/Fort Worth, and beyond to Vancouver International, Toronto Pearson, and Montréal Trudeau;
- code-share flights to 25 destinations in the US;
- charter flights to any points in the US.
Viet Nam was granted a FAA Category I rating in February 2019, paving the way for the launch of direct services between the two countries. Vietnam Airlines has repeatedly said that while it hoped to fly to the United States in the future, such flights would likely require subsidies from the government. Meanwhile, privately-owned rival Bamboo Airways (QH, Hanoi Noi Bai International) plans to launch services to the US as soon as 2020 but has yet to apply for the FACP.
