Text: Three U.S. Airlines Get Code-Sharing Rights for Vietnam
(August 23 Department of Transportation decision)

The Department of Transportation (DOT) said August 23 that Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, and United Airlines will now be able to provide code-share air service to Vietnam with their third-country partners.

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 that carries the designator code of the airline that sold the transportation, according to a DOT news release.

Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said he looks forward to continued growth in the aviation relationship between Vietnam and the United States.

Following is the text of the news release:

(begin text)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 23, 2001
DOT 87-01

U.S. Airlines Get Access to Vietnam As DOT Awards Code-Sharing Rights

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today granted rights to three U.S. airlines to provide code-share air service to Vietnam with their third-country airline partners.

Today's action makes final the department's tentative decision of Aug. 7.

"Travelers now have access to Vietnam using U.S. airline services for the first time in decades," U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said. "I look forward to continued growth in the U.S.-Vietnam aviation relationship."

In today's order, DOT 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 decision gives each carrier seven of the flights.

In a March 2000 Memorandum of Discussion, the United States and Vietnam contemplated allowing code-sharing services between their countries. These services may 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 will code-share with its partner Air France for service to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Northwest will place its code on flights of Malaysia Airlines and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. United will 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 service to the United States via Taipei, Taiwan.

The final order, 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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