Vietnam Airlines

History

Vietnam Airlines traces its roots to 15 January 1956, when North Vietnam's government established Vietnam Civil Aviation, initially organized as a military transport unit (the 919th Transport Air Force Regiment) rather than a commercial carrier. Commercial development accelerated after the 1994 lifting of the US trade embargo, which allowed the airline to acquire Western-built aircraft, and in 1995 Vietnam Airlines Corporation was formed by merging about 20 aviation service enterprises under state ownership. The carrier restructured into a limited liability company in 2010, the same year it became the first Southeast Asian airline to join the SkyTeam alliance, and converted to a joint-stock company in 2015. It has since built a long-haul network anchored by Boeing 787s and Airbus A350s, launching Vietnam's first non-stop service to the United States (Ho Chi Minh City-San Francisco) in 2021. Today the airline remains majority state-owned, with the Ministry of Finance and the State Capital Investment Corporation together holding a controlling stake, and it is recognized as Vietnam's national flag carrier.

Current Operations

Vietnam Airlines operates a mixed fleet of roughly 90-100 aircraft spanning Airbus A320/A321 narrowbodies, A350-900s, and Boeing 787 and 777 widebodies, serving a network of around 20 domestic and nearly 40 international destinations across Asia, Europe, Australia and North America. Its operations are anchored by dual hubs at Hanoi's Noi Bai (HAN) and Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat (SGN) airports, with Da Nang (DAD) serving as a secondary base for central Vietnam. As a SkyTeam member, the airline maintains extensive codeshare and interline partnerships with carriers such as Air France, Delta, and Cathay Pacific. In 2025 the airline finalized a large order for Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft to expand narrowbody capacity later in the decade, alongside plans to add widebody aircraft, targeting a fleet approaching 150 aircraft by 2030. The carrier returned to solid profitability in 2025, reflecting a broader recovery in Vietnam's outbound and inbound travel demand.

Last verified 2026-08-22· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.

Serves These Profiled Airports31

Sample Routes6