Vietnam Airlines boosts capacity to Melbourne

Increasing demand will see Vietnam Airlines replace its Boeing 787 with an Airbus A350 on the Ho Chi Minh City-Melbourne route from July 29. This will be the first time Vietnam has used an A350 on an Australian route and it is set to replace the 787 at least until the end of October. The airline says the use of bigger aircraft follows a spike in demand in recent months and gives the Vietnamese airline a 10 percent increase in capacity, allowing for an additional 29 passengers each way. READ PAL's A321neo heralds a change as it lands in Brisbane. The airline flies three-class A350s in two configurations.  Both offer business, premium economy and economy cabins with 18-inch wide economy seats and a 32-inch seat pitch. Premium economy offers a 38-inch seat pitch with a recline of up to 8 inches of recline while business has lie-flat seats. “It is great to see an increase in demand from our Australian travelers and Vietnam Airlines is delighted to announce the upgrade to some of the current fleet to the new Airbus,” Vietnam’s general manager in Australia, Hung Truong, said. Vietnam Airlines is the national flag carrier of Vietnam and operates  90 routes to 20 domestic and 29 international destinations with an average of 400 flights per day. It has seen double-digit growth over the past two decades and is a member of the SkyTeam alliance along carriers such as Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines. In 2015, it became the first airline to operate both the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350. Other widebody planes in its fleet include the Boeing 777-200ER and A330-200. It also operates single-aisle A321s and ATR 72s. Both aircraft offer improved fuel efficiency, higher cabin pressures and advanced features. Vietnamese news site Vietnam.net Bridge reported this week that Vietnam Airlines was increasing fees and charges after rises from competitors Jetstar Pacific and Vietjet.