Qatar Airways
has launched its first flights to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. The
airline serves
the bustling city non-stop four-times-a-week with an Airbus A300 aircraft, in a two-class configuration of up to 30 seats in Business Class and 186 seats in Economy.
Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker
said, “The growing economy of Vietnam and its ascension into the World Trade
Organisation has seen a large influx of business and leisure visitors to the country. We look forward to attracting passengers to our
award-winning Five-Star service here in Ho Chi Minh City.”
It had been a busy
few days for Qatar’s national carrier, which has also just launched flights to Chennai in southern India and the
tropical Indonesian island of Bali.
“We anticipate trade and travel in this region will continue to expand and view our role as an international airline as one of facilitation and service,
both in terms of business travellers and tourists,” Al Bakar added,
saying that the new flights would provide excellent connections to Europe, Middle
East and Africa via the airline’s operational hub of Doha.
The addition of Bali and Ho Chi Minh City sees Qatar Airways’ Far East network increase from 12 to 14 destinations. The airline already serves
Hong Kong, Osaka, Beijing, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Yangon, Manila and
Cebu.
Vietnam’s acceptance into the World Trade Organisation in November 2006 was seen as a milestone for the country, having worked to open its
economy and encourage trade and investment from overseas in accordance with WTO regulations. As a result of these changes, Vietnam is
currently the second fastest growing economy in South East Asia and one of the strongest emerging economies in the world.
As a tourist destination, Vietnam is seen as one of Asia’s
largely undiscovered jewels, with an abundance of untouched natural rainforests, mountains
and beaches. The country is steeped in French colonial history and diverse Vietnamese culture. It is considered one of the safest places in Asia
and consistently features in travel logs and magazines, drawing increasing numbers of tourists.
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