Delta places its code on Vietnam Airlines’ flights between Tokyo and Hanoi

Delta Air Lines and Vietnam Airlines have agreed to expand their codeshare pact to include all Vietnam Airlines flights between Tokyo and Hanoi.

Prior to the change, which took effect Feb. 12, Delta had been in a one-way codeshare agreement with Vietnam Airlines since 2010, placing Vietnam Airlines’ codes on Delta-operated flights between Tokyo Narita and US gateways and then onward to US domestic destinations. Now passengers on Delta flights from Minneapolis and Los Angeles to Tokyo Haneda can connect to a Vietnam Airlines flight from Haneda to Hanoi on the same itinerary.

“Once all Delta’s Tokyo flights consolidate at Haneda on March 29 [switching from Narita], all Delta customers from Atlanta, Detroit, Seattle, Portland, Honolulu, in addition to Los Angeles and Minneapolis, [will be able to] connect to Vietnam Airlines’ Hanoi flights at Haneda,” Delta said in a statement.

Vietnam Airlines will also add its code to all Delta flights to and from Haneda.

“This is going to be a transformative year for Delta in Japan as we consolidate our services in Haneda next month,” Delta senior VP-alliances Perry Cantarutti said. “The partnership with fellow SkyTeam member Vietnam Airlines further strengthens Delta’s position in Haneda as the largest US airline, while enhancing connectivity between the two countries.”

The expanded codeshare comes a year after the US FAA granted Vietnam a Category 1 safety rating. Delta noted it is the first US carrier to place its code on a Vietnamese carrier.

Photo credit: Vietnam Airlines

Aaron Karp

Aaron Karp is a Contributing Editor to the Aviation Week Network.