ROUTES ASIA: SilkAir Joins Singapore Airlines on Hanoi Route

Singaporean carrier SilkAir is to join its parent, Singapore Airlines (SIA), on flights to the Vietnamese capital Hanoi. The airline will commence a three times weekly service from June 5, 2012 complementing the daily flights offered by SIA. The new flights are subject to governmental approvals, with schedules subject to slot availability.

"Singapore Airlines and SilkAir have always sought to increase the synergy in our combined network of 97 cities in 37 countries, and enhance the connectivity options available to our customers. We are therefore delighted that the new SilkAir flights to Hanoi will be an ideal complement to the services already offered by Singapore Airlines,” said Tan Chik Quee, Senior Vice President Marketing, Singapore Airlines.

Hanoi is the second largest city in Vietnam, with growing tourism, banking and finance sectors. A city with over a thousand years of history, Hanoi is a destination rich in culture and amidst the French-influenced architecture, a wonderful collection of museums, temples and monuments awaits visitors.

"Hanoi is a truly picturesque city with a wealth of culture and heritage. As the capital of a burgeoning economy like Vietnam, Hanoi has also been host to substantial commercial and industrial development. SilkAir looks forward to serving both leisure and business travellers alike on the Singapore-Hanoi route," added Marvin Tan, Chief Executive Officer, SilkAir.

Alongside SIA’s existing flights, the Singapore – Hanoi route is also served by Vietnam Airlines and Tiger Airways, while 3K launched flights in January 2012. Last year was the first time that more than 1,000 annual flights were scheduled on the route and even before this announcement from SilkAir, the number of rotations were forecasted to increase by 12.6 per cent during the current year. An estimated 310,000 O&D passengers travelled on the route in 2011.

The table below shows the evolution of capacity on the route since 2000…