By Thanh Huong.
From Dec 2012, Vietnam Airlines is to begin direct flights between Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) and Jakarta (Indonesia). Initially, the direct flights are on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The new flights are to meet the increasing demand for business and leisure travel between Vietnam and Indonesia. The route is currently operated by AirAsia only and the tickets are often booked out.
With the new direct flights, tour operators and travel agents in Vietnam and Indonesia hope that there are more and more travellers to both countries. At present, there is only a meagre number of tourists from Indonesia visiting Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and the Mekong Delta. The average trip to Vietnam by Indonesian tourists is 4-5 days. The number of Vietnamese tourists visiting Indonesia are nothing compared to those who travel to other South East Asian Countries. Beside Indonesia, Vietnam Airlines operates direct flights to Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar. Vietnam Airlines do offer tickets for Ho Chi Minh City and Manila (The Philippines), but these code-share flights are operated by Philippines Airlines.
