Singapore, November 8, 2017 - Vietnam Airlines was awarded the prestigious CAPA Asia Pacific Airline of the Year at the 2017 CAPA Asia Pacific Aviation & Corporate Travel Summit held in Singapore. This award is given to the airline that has been the biggest standout strategically during the year, has had the greatest impact on the development of the airline industry and provided a benchmark for others to follow. Vietnam Airlines was selected for its rapid growth, high level of profitability and successful partial privatisation.

Mr. Peter Harbison, Executive Chairman of CAPA said: “Vietnam Airlines has emerged as a successful and fast growing full service airline group despite intensifying competition in its home market. The group’s dual brand strategy with Jetstar Pacific and pursuit of strategic partnerships have significantly improved its long-term position. These strengths helped the airline achieve a highly successful partial privatisation in early 2017 while maintaining a high level of profitability."

Mr. Le Hong Ha, Executive Vice President of Vietnam Airlines said: "We are deeply honored that CAPA has awarded Vietnam Airlines Asia Pacific Airline of the Year. The award is a recognition of our company’s strategy and transformation efforts over the past years. The award is a motivator for us to continue to "reach further” and reaffirm our leading position and become a favorite airline in Asia Pacific region."

According to CAPA, with growth rate in passenger traffic at 19% in 2016, Vietnam Airlines is the fastest growing flag carrier in Southeast Asia and one of the fastest growing full-service airlines globally. In 2016, Vietnam Airlines became one of only four airlines in Southeast Asia (and one of just two full service airlines) to surpass 20 million annual passengers.

Vietnam Airlines has been consistently profitable over the last decade. The parent airline reported a record profit before tax of USD73 million in 2016 despite intensifying competition. The group’s profit reached USD114 million in 2016 and exceeded USD100 million in the first three quarters of 2017. Vietnam Airlines operates a young and modern fleet and is the first airline in the world to simultaneously operate both Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s hence. The airline is also committed to renewing its narrowbody fleet with A321NEOs from 2018 and constantly reinforcing 4-Star service quality.

Vietnam Airlines completed listing shares on Hanoi Stock Exchange under the stock code HVN in Jan 2017, becoming one of the first and largest state owned Airlines in Vietnam to partially privatise. In addition to the public float, Japan’s All Nippon Airways Holdings acquired a 8,77% stake in Vietnam Airlines in 2016 as part of a new strategic partnership.

Vietnam Airlines has embraced partnerships with many airlines, also recently forging a joint venture with Air France covering the Vietnam-Europe market, and pursued a successful dual brand model with Jetstar Pacific to further increase its competitive position in domestic market.

At the Summit, Mr. Le Hong Ha attended the executive panel “The full service airlines’ perspective” with the attendance of Andrew Herdman- Director General of Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA); Giorgio Callegari- Deputy General Director for Strategy and Alliances of Aeroflot- Russian Airlines and Cesar Pereira- Embraer VP Asia Pacific. Speaking at the summit, Mr. Le Hong Ha shared his insight of Vietnam Airlines’ strategies of developing the fleet and personalized services as well as digitalizing distribution channels to serve all customer segments.

Mr Peter Harbison, Executive Chairman of CAPA, presents the 2017 CAPA Asia Pacific Airline of the Year award to Ms Le Thi Khanh Chi, Deputy Director of Corporate Planning and Development, Vietnam Airlines.

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Note to editor:

About Vietnam Airlines:

Vietnam Airlines is the flag carrier of Vietnam and the major carrier in the Mekong sub-region, operating 90 routes to 20 domestic and 29 international destinations with an average of 400 flights per day. Vietnam Airlines has been certified as a 4-Star Airline for 2 consecutive years by the prestigious Skytrax, the world’s leading airline and airport rating organization.

During 22 years of development at a 2-digit annual growth rate, Vietnam Airlines has achieved a remarkable advancement to become a major airline in Asia’s aviation market. In June 2010, Vietnam Airlines joined SkyTeam Alliance, affirming the carrier’s new position on the global aviation map as a strategic partner of the alliance in Southeast Asia region. In 2015, Vietnam Airlines became the first airline in the world to operate both next-generation aircraft- Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner & Airbus A350-9XWB- at the same time.

Positioning itself as a modern carrier whose brand is characterized by Vietnam’s rich culture and national identity, Vietnam Airlines is striving to become one of the most favorable carriers in the Asia-Pacific region.

About CAPA and the CAPA Awards for Excellence:

Established in 1990, CAPA – Centre for Aviation is the leading provider of independent aviation market intelligence, analysis and data services, covering worldwide developments. The CAPA Aviation Awards for Excellence have recognised strategic leadership in the aviation industry since 2002. The awards are not driven by customer surveys or sponsorship. They are independently researched by CAPA and selected by an independent international panel of judges.