IndiGo to launch services to Vietnam

India's largest domestic carrier, in terms of market share, IndiGo on Tuesday said it will launch services to Vietnam from October, making it the fifth South East Asian country in the airline's network after Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Myanmar.

Effective October 3, subject to government approvals, IndiGo will operate its non-stop daily flights between Kolkata and Hanoi, the airline said in a statement.

At present, no Indian airline flies directly to Vietnam. The grounded Jet Airways had a few years ago started flights to Vietnam only to discontinue the service months later.

"We foresee a rising demand for Hanoi, which is famous for its historic architecture and a rich cultural blend of Southeast Asian and French influence," William Boulter, chief commercial officer IndiGo said, adding that the airline was expecting high demand for the Buddhist tourism circuit from Vietnam as the South East Asian country has a large Buddhist community.

The management of IndiGo had last week told analysts over a call that the IndiGo has received 12 departures slots daily, earlier allocated to Jet Airways. The airline is expected to expand its international services in the coming months.

Jet Airways suspended operations in April 2019 due to an acute fund crunch.

“And out of this 12, we have made operational and already gone for sale on seven of that and remaining are still open because of slot issues," Wolfgang Prockschauer, president and chief operating officer (COO) at IndiGo told analysts during the call. “And then, going further, after there is more clarity about what's happening to Jet Airways, we will also expect a major boost to our portfolio in domestic and international slots, and the traffic rights, especially," Prockschauer added.

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