Emirates' Ho Chi Minh service to impact Asian carriers, but provides Vietnam with much needed growth

Vietnam's international market will get a long overdue shake-up later this year as Emirates finally launches services to Vietnam. Emirates' decision to launch Dubai-Ho Chi Minh City service from Jun-2012 hardly comes as a surprise as Vietnam was the only major Asian country missing from the carrier's fast-expanding route network. The rapid growth of Vietnam's tourism and business sector combined with the current relative lack of long-haul capacity compared to other major ASEAN countries makes the Vietnamese market particularly appealing to Emirates.

Emirates will initially operate a daily flight between Dubai and Ho Chi Minh using 278-seat two-class A330-200s, resulting in 3892 weekly seats to and from Vietnam. This will immediately make Emirates the third largest carrier from outside Asia serving Vietnam. As a result, Emirates is poised to become one of the leading carriers in the Vietnam-Europe market, which is growing rapidly as Vietnam emerges as a major tourist destination.