Garuda pulls out of HCM while AirAsia flys in

Airlines are flying to Vietnam with confidence and caution, several airlines last week adding as well as suspending routes into the country last week.

The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) said Wednesday Trans Air would be launching flights between Taipei and Vietnam's central coastal city of Danang from next month.

Trans Air will fly twice a week to Danang International Airport before increasing frequency in 2010, it said.
CAAV Air Transport Department director Vo Huy Cuong told VietnamNet that after Singapore?s Silk Air, Trans Air would be the second foreign carrier to operate at the airport.

Similarly, Thai AirAsia will also launch a direct daily flight between HCMC and Phuket of Thailand from December 3 to enhance its presence in the market.

However, Indonesia's Garuda suspended services to HCMC on Wednesday, the airline blaming the impact of the global financial crisis and falling number of inbound travellers.

Garuda Indonesia Vietnam general manager Syamsul Adnan said low yields on the Jakarta-Singapore-HCMC route were also cause for the suspension.

"We suspend the aircraft (for the flight to and from HCMC) because we have higher demand in the domestic market. So, we are using the aircraft for the domestic sector? he said.

"We will consider flying back to HCMC when the global market gets stabilized?

In the first 10 months of this year, Vietnam received 16.3 percent fewer international visitors compared to the same period last year.

Sourced = The e Travel Blackboard