Online Travel Vietnam: Low cost carrier Viva Macau will launch it second direct route to Vietnam, between Hanoi and Macau, on February 13, 2010, following its success with the Ho Chi Minh City-Macau route opened two years ago.

Three weekly flights will carry passengers between the two destinations on each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sai Gon Online (The Saigon Economics Times Online) reported.

Each trip is estimated to take about two hours.

The Macau-based airline is offering promotional fares for single economy class flight on the new route at US$25 (plus tax) and $199 (plus tax) for one-way business class flight.

Viva Macau is currently using 245-seat Boeing 767 aircrafts to operate daily flights between Macau and Vietnam’s southern hub.

In July this year, the budget carrier raised the number of flights on the route from four to seven a week to meet growing travel demand on the route.

The carrier enjoyed 20 percent growth on the HCMC-Macau route in the first half of this year, according to Viva Macau general director Reginald MacDonald.

The airline is also offering flights between HCMC and Australia’s Melbourne and Japan’s Sapporo via Macau.

Macau, a former Portuguese colony, now governed by China, has become a popular destination for Vietnamese tourists.

Source: Vietnews Online