Text: Transportation Dept. Mar. 6 Statement on Vietnam Air Travel
(U.S., Vietnam sign agreement on cooperative marketing deals)

U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Pete Peterson and Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam Director General Nguyen Tien Sam signed a Memorandum of Discussions in Hanoi March 6 that would permit cooperative arrangements between U.S. and Vietnamese air carriers, according to the Department of Transportation (DOT).

The United States and Vietnam do not have direct air service between each other, nor do they have a bilateral aviation agreement. The understanding does not address the issue of direct air services between the two countries, the DOT said in a recent announcement.

However, the DOT added, U.S. and Vietnamese carriers may now form marketing arrangements, such as code sharing, with each other or with carriers of other countries to provide U.S.-Vietnam service via intermediate countries.

Following is the text of the announcement:

(begin text)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary - Office of Public Affairs
Washington, DC 20590

DOT 44-00

United States Announces New Opportunities
for U.S.-Vietnam Air Service

Airlines of the United States and Vietnam may provide service between the two countries through cooperative marketing arrangements such as code-sharing, the U.S. Departments of State and Transportation announced today.

A Memorandum of Discussions reflecting the intention of the two sides to permit cooperative arrangements between U.S. and Vietnamese air carriers was signed today in Hanoi by U.S. Ambassador Pete Peterson and Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam Director General Nguyen Tien Sam.

"President Clinton's and Vice President Gore's leadership has opened more markets and created more opportunities for air service in the past seven years than in any comparable period in U.S. aviation history," U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater said. "This begins what I am confident will be a growing aviation relationship with Vietnam in the coming years."

By signing the memorandum, the United States and Vietnam are acting to expand passenger service which will provide opportunities for increased bilateral trade and tourism. The United States hopes that this arrangement will encourage the government of Vietnam to take further steps to liberalize its air services and thereby enhance its participation in the global economy. U.S. and Vietnamese authorities have scheduled bilateral air service talks June 14-15 in Washington, D.C.

Currently, there is no air service and no bilateral aviation agreement between the United States and Vietnam. Although the new understanding does not address direct air services between the two countries, U.S. and Vietnamese carriers may form marketing arrangements such as code sharing with each other, or with carriers of other countries, to provide U.S.-Vietnam service via intermediate countries.

Code sharing is an increasingly common practice that involves an airline putting its code on the services of another airline in order to serve a market without operating its own aircraft in that market.

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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: usinfo.state.gov)

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