U.S. Dept. of State - IIP: U.S.-Vietnam Relations

Text: Transportation Dept. to Award Vietnam Air Service Rights
(Three U.S. airlines get tentative go-ahead on code sharing)
The Department of Transportation (DOT) announced August 7 that it has tentatively granted three U.S. airlines the right to provide air service to Vietnam in conjunction with third-country airline partners such as Air France and KLM.
American air travelers will now have access to Vietnam in conjunction with U.S. airline services for the first time in decades, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said in the August 7 news release.
Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines and United Airlines will be able to offer a total of 21 round-trip code-sharing flights, with each airline having seven flights, according to the DOT's tentative decision.
Following is the text of the press release:
(begin text)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Department of Transportation
Tuesday, August 7, 2001
U.S. Carriers Get First Access to Vietnam in Decades
As DOT Tentatively Awards Air Service Code-Sharing Rights
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today tentatively granted rights to three U.S. airlines to provide air service to Vietnam in conjunction with their third-country airline partners.
"Travelers now will have access to Vietnam in conjunction with U.S. airline services for the first time in decades," U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said. "Today's action is an important step in what I am confident will be a growing aviation relationship between the United States and Vietnam in the coming years."
In today's show-cause order, DOT tentatively awarded U.S.-Vietnam code-sharing rights to Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines and United Airlines. A total of 21 round-trip code-sharing flights are available to be awarded, and the department's tentative decision gave each carrier seven of the flights.
In a March 2000 Memorandum of Discussion, the United States and Vietnam agreed to allow code-sharing services between their countries. These services could be operated through arrangements between U.S. and third-country carriers, as in today's tentative decision, as well as between U.S. and Vietnamese airlines and between Vietnamese airlines and third-country carriers. Code sharing is a common airline industry practice in which one airline offers service in its own name to a particular destination, but some or all of the transportation is provided by another carrier which carries the designator code of the airline that sold the transportation. The March 2000 memorandum did not address direct service by U.S. and Vietnamese carriers with their own aircraft.
Delta would code-share with its partner Air France for service to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Northwest plans to place its code on flights of Malaysia Airlines and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. United would code-share with partners All Nippon Airlines, Thai Airways International and Lufthansa German Airlines for service to Ho Chi Minh City.
The only other existing U.S.-Vietnam service is operated under a code-share arrangement between Vietnam Airlines and China Airlines, using the latter's direct service to the United States.
Today's tentative decision allows interested parties to file objections before the decision is made final. Objections are due in 10 days, and answers to objections are due five days afterward. After this comment period, the department will issue a final decision.
The show-cause order, carrier applications and other documents in this case are available via the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov, docket number OST-2000-7194.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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