Inaugural Vietnam Airlines flight lands in Phuket, Thailand

Yesterday at 11am, Vietnam Airlines’ inaugural flight from Ho Chih Minh City landed at Phuket International Airport with 161 tourists on board.

Passengers on flight VN9625 were given a warm welcome from the Director of Phuket Airport Monchai Tanod, and the Deputy Director of Phuket Airport’s Business Support Line Kanyarat Suthipatanakit.

With Thailand’s monsoon season in full swing, all passengers were given a waterproof bag as a welcome gift to the island as they disembarked from the aircraft. The tourists will join activities organised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Phuket Office during their stay.

The direct route between Ho Chih Minh’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport, and Phuket International Airport will run once a week on a Thursday. Flying 962 kilometres over the Gulf of Thailand, the flight duration is only 1 hour and 27 minutes.

The new direct route connecting Vietnam’s largest city to Phuket is hoped to boost tourism between Thailand and Vietnam.

Tickets on the route are not yet available to buy through the Vietnam Airlines website, which is expected to be updated soon.

On the same day as the Vietnamese flag carrier’s inaugural Phuket flight, auditing firm Deloitte Vietnam published a document casting doubts on the airline’s ability to continue flying.

In the performance report, Deloitte said that Vietnam Airlines’ short-term debt exceeds its short-term assets by 36.4 trillion Vietnamese dollars (US$1.53 billion).

The airline has also recently entered negotiations to cancel its purchase of four Boeing B787 and Airbus A320 aircraft.

SOURCE: KhaoSod