Onlinetravelvietnam.com: Vietnam Airlines on Wednesday commenced direct service between Hanoi and the Japanese city of Osaka in a fresh move to deepen its presence in the major market in northeast Asia.

The national carrier operates 184-seat Airbus A321 aircraft on the new route on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays to meet the high travel demand between the two cities.

Vietnam Airlines replaces the struggling Japan Airlines to tap the route which the Japanese carrier abandoned on Tuesday after years of operation. Previously, Vietnam Airlines joined code-share flights with the Japanese partner on this run.

Vietnam Airlines flights depart from Noi Bai International Airport at 12:10 a.m. and from Kansai Airport at 11 a.m. Arrivals in Hanoi are at 2:45 p.m.

Pham Ngoc Minh, general director of Vietnam Airlines said the airline had launched the direct service between Hanoi and Osaka to boost investment and tourism links between these two destinations in particular and between Vietnam and Japan in general.

This is the fourth direct route operated by Vietnam Airlines from Hanoi to Japan and the seventh route served by this carrier between Vietnam and Japan. Vietnam Airlines operates 31 flights from Hanoi and HCMC to Japan each week, including 11 a week to Tokyo, 12 to Osaka, four to Nagoya and four to Fukuoka.

The airline also released its updated business results for 2009 with revenue exceeding VND24.6trillion, including pre-tax profit of VND150 billion.

Source: VietNamNet/SGT