Vietnam, U.S. to renew air transport pact

Vietnam and the United States are expected to renew their air transport agreement that has been in place since January 2004, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV).
Preparations are under way for competent officials of the two countries to sign the renewal of the U.S.-Vietnam Air Transport Agreement in Hanoi, Lai Xuan Thanh, deputy director general of CAAV, told the Daily on Wednesday.
Thanh did not disclose the time of the signing. But another official from the Vietnamese aviation authority is pinning high hopes that the signing can take place this month as this had been approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
The official said the renewal of the U.S.-Vietnam Air Transport Agreement neared completion less than one year of talks between Vietnam and the U.S.
Late last month, the Prime Minister told the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to authorize the Ministry of Transport to renew the air transport agreement with the U.S.
Thanh said the agreement would consist of changes based on a deal clinched by Vietnam and the U.S. about 10 months ago to liberalize their bilateral civil aviation relations through an Open Skies accord for all-cargo services.
The accord was initialed in Hanoi in October 7, 2008 after two days of talks in the capital city between a Vietnamese delegation led by Thanh and officials from the U.S. departments of transportation and commerce.
The agreement is expected to expand the already strong trade and tourism links between the U.S. and Vietnam, as well as provide benefits to American and Vietnamese cargo carriers and to shippers.
The U.S. embassy said in a statement after the signing of the Open Skies accord that U.S. and Vietnamese cargo airlines would enjoy the benefits of liberalization on the basis of comity and reciprocity.
According to CAAV, FedEx is one of the cargo carriers that have capitalized on the benefits of growing cargo services between of the U.S. and Vietnam.
Thanh said the new air transport agreement would almost remain unchanged in terms of passenger services. For example, Vietnam still limits granting the fifth freedom or approval for American airlines to let their guests disembark or board their flights at stopover destinations in the northeast of Asia.
Northwest Airlines is a case in point, as CAAV did not allow this carrier to disembark passengers traveling from HCMC at Narita Airport and let passengers board the flights from Tokyo to HCMC.
CAAV agreed Northwest to transport passengers between HCMC and the U.S., and to use the airport in Japan’s Tokyo was a technical stopover.
Northwest became the second U.S. airline to fly to HCMC when this wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines commenced its HCMC-Tokyo service in early June this year.
Northwest launched the direct service to HCMC more than four years after United Airlines commenced its service to this city. Currently, United flies daily between HCMC and the U.S. via Hong Kong, where the carrier is allowed to let the passengers departing from HCMC leave and receive guests there.
Vietnam and the U.S. began their first talks on an aviation accord on allowing direct passenger and cargo flights between the two countries more than 10 years ago. They initialed this agreement in Hanoi in October 2003, paving the way for the two nations to tap the surge in trade and travel between them.