Leading the welcome was Phuket International Airport Deputy Director Wichit Kaewsaithiam, joined by Vietnam Airlines Operations Manager Phan Truong Son and Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket Office Director Kanokkittika Kritwutikon and a host airport staffers.
The welcome delegation handed out souvenirs to the arrivals as they disembarked Flight VN625 at Gate 15 of the International Terminal.
The new service operates three days a week – Sunday, Tuesday and Friday – with Flight VN625 departing Ho Chi Minh City at 3:50pm and arriving in Phuket at 5:40pm, and return service Flight VN624 departing Phuket at 6:40pm and arriving in Ho Chi Minh at 8:35pm on the same days.
The flight takes 1 hour 50 minutes and is served by an Airbus A321 aircraft.
The number of flights on the route is expected to increase to seven per week from late March 2020, considering the big potential of this service, notes Vietnam news website VietnamPlus. (See here.)
According to Ministry of Tourism & Sports International Tourist Arrival statistics for 2018 (click here), there were 1,053,723 tourist arrivals from Vietnam, staying on average 6.54 days per stay, and spending an estimated B5,087.74 per day, altogether generating B35.061 billion baht in tourism revenue throughout the year.
Vietnam Airlines yesterday also resumed its daily flights connecting the central coastal city of Da Nang and Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, with flights departing Da Nang at 3:20pm each and from Bangkok at 6pm each day.
Broadening its regional services, national carrier Vietnam Airlines yesterday also launched daily direct flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Bali.