New HCM City-Ha Noi air route rejected by authorities

07-12-2009
by Minh Huong

HA NOI — While most scientists supported the idea of a new air route between Ha Noi and HCM City, relevant authorities denied its feasibility at a workshop in the capital yesterday.
Early this year, former pilot Mai Trong Tuan submitted his idea for a new flight route that would take the 106 degree meridian, under which the distance between the two cities would be shorter and more economical.

However, Lai Xuan Thanh, deputy director of the Civil Aviation Administration of Viet Nam (CAAV), said, "The route is still not feasible."

Tuan and other scientists calculated that the shorter distance would save fuel and sharply reduce flight times. The idea was to fly in a straight line, over Laos and Cambodia, instead of veering east over the East Sea.

Tuan said that flights could be reduced to 1,000km, saving nearly VND550 billion (nearly US$29 million) in fuel costs per year.

One of the idea’s supporters, Le Trong Sanh, former head of Flight Operations with many years of experience in the airline industry, said that it would be a good project, as it could bring many benefits to Viet Nam, including reduced fuel costs, human resources and pollution, as well as improved flight safety.

Study results
While Tuan proved that the new path would save about 200km from the current route, CAAV proved that the gap was not really that large.

Tuan and his supporters thought that flight times would be shortened by 10 minutes and fuel would be saved, but according to senior Vietnam Airlines official Nguyen Van Tien, the new route would save only two and a half minutes. The official said that the money saved would not cover the expenses of travelling in Lao and Cambodian airspace.

CAAV deputy head Thanh absolutely agreed with the VNA’s calculations, explaining that the VNA had used a correct and modern calculation method for all of their flights.

Despite the fact that CAAV told Tuan his idea was not feasible, they still decided to open a route from Ha Noi to Pakse in Laos, connecting Ha Noi with the existing Pakse-Siem Reap and HCM City routes, which Tuan said was very similar to his idea.

Thanh said that the route from Ha Noi to Pakse in Laos would bring more opportunities for tourism and trade between the three countries.

Thanh said they could save $400,000 per month if they adjusted the routes for shorter distances, adding: "The new route is the dream of all the people". — VNS