Vietnam Airlines will resume operations to and from Da Nang, Vietnam, on September 7th. The initial routes will be out to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, two of the airline’s largest hubs, which provide connections across the world, though presently, flights are only restricted to domestic operations.
Resuming Da Nang operations
From September 7th through the 10th, Vietnam Airlines is operating one daily roundtrip flight between Hanoi (HAN) and Da Nang (DAD). Another flight will operate between Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) and Da Nang. Schedule for flights after September 11th will be decided in due course per updates and approval from authorities who are managing the health situation.
On these routes, Vietnam Airlines will be flying an Airbus A321. This is one of the airline’s domestic workhorses and performs a lot of the carrier’s domestic and short-haul regional operations. The A321 comes in three different configurations. One has 16 recliner-style business class seats in a 2-2 configuration followed by 162 economy class seats in a 3-3 configuration for a total of 178 seats. Another has the same configuration and number of business class seats with six additional economy class seats for a maximum capacity of 184 passengers. Lastly, another configuration has eight recliner-style business class seats with 195 coach seats for a maximum capacity of 203.
Alterations to the flying experience
At the request of the Ministry of Transport, Vietnam Airlines will be spacing out passengers to reduce the possibility of viral spread onboard its aircraft. This will come alongside the airline’s existing disinfection and cleaning policies while also requiring passengers to make health declarations, undergo temperature screenings, and wear a mask while onboard the aircraft.
Vietnam Airlines is also reducing its inflight services to make them more streamlined and further prevent viral transmission between passengers and crew, or vice versa.
Vietnam Airlines in Da Nang
Vietnam Airlines has traditionally been a significant player in Da Nang with domestic and international flights. However, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam Airlines suspended international operations in line with the country’s guidance and official policies.
In the early days of the pandemic, Vietnam Airlines was not operating its full domestic routes. However, by June, the carrier had resumed 100% of its domestic operations and even grew some more.
But, things changed at the end of the summer with the second wave of COVID-19 hitting Da Nang. Vietnam, which was largely praised around the world for its swift handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, closed off the city and worked to evacuate existing tourists. Vietnam Airlines also got involved and even used an Airbus A350 to fly out people who were still stuck in Da Nang.
Da Nang is a major tourist hub, and, with the COVID-19 pandemic closing international borders, Vietnamese citizens have been traveling a lot, and airlines have been running plenty of specials with low fares to encourage tourism.
Are you itching for a trip to Da Nang? Do you think this is a good step forward? Let us know in the comments!
