.jpg.jpg)
The contract signed between the two parties confirmed that ANA Group purchased 8.771% of Vietnam Airlines shares for VND2,431 billion (equivalent to USD109 million). It is expected that after completing the transactions on July 1, 2016, ANA will officially become a strategic shareholder of Vietnam Airlines.
.jpg_0.jpg)
VNA CEO Pham Ngoc Minh and ANA Group CEO Shinya Katanozaka signed a share purchase contract witnessed by Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Nhat and VNA Chairman of the Board of Directors Pham Viet Thanh.
This strategic partnership will help Vietnam Airlines and ANA Group exploit and take advantage of each other's strengths to expand their flight network and develop products. Accordingly, the two sides will implement a codeshare cooperation and frequent flyer program starting from October 30, 2016. VNA and ANA will cooperate on 30 domestic routes in Japan and Vietnam and 10 international routes between the two countries to bring more convenience to customers. In addition, frequent flyers of each airline can accumulate miles when flying on codeshare flights between the two airlines and be rewarded on flights operated by both airlines. In addition, VNA and ANA Group will also cooperate in a series of services related to passenger procedures, cargo services, transportation, meals, aircraft maintenance and other services at airports in Japan and Vietnam.
.jpg_1.jpg)
VNA and ANA exchanged strategic cooperation documents witnessed by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
ANA Group will send representatives to join the Board of Directors of Vietnam Airlines, and commit to sharing management experiences to support Vietnam Airlines in improving service quality and optimizing operations. Specifically, ANA Group and its subsidiaries commit to providing technical support to VNA and its subsidiaries in the following areas: Human resource management; Support in developing strategic plans for fleet development, flight network, flight schedules; Support in flight operations; Support in aircraft maintenance engineering; Information technology; Support in training (including flight attendants).
“It is a great honor for us to share ANA Group’s many years of experience with Vietnam Airlines, including supporting the improvement of service quality and contributing to the mutual growth and development of the two companies,” said Mr. Shinya Katanozaka, CEO of ANA Group. “Through this business partnership and investment, ANA Group will further promote economic and cultural relations between Japan and other Asian countries as well as promote tourism in Japan.”
Mr. Pham Ngoc Minh, General Director of Vietnam Airlines said: “Finding partners and increasing capital for the business is an important part of Vietnam Airlines' efforts to restructure and improve competitiveness in the international market. Cooperating with ANA Group, which owns one of the airlines with the top service quality in the region and the world, will help us be more confident in renewing our fleet with the latest generation aircraft, expanding the market, improving service quality and operating more effectively.”
Vietnam Airlines is operating a young fleet of 89 modern aircraft with many advanced aircraft types in the world, including Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and Airbus A350-900 XWB. Vietnam Airlines' flight network connects to 20 domestic destinations, 29 international destinations and currently operates 66 flights per week to Japan including: Narita Airport, Haneda (Tokyo), Chubu Airport (Nagoya), Kansai Airport (Osaka) and Fukuoka Airport.
