Vietnam Airlines and China Southern Airlines have launched a new joint venture, which is set to take effect on August 1, 2025.
This is the first joint venture between a Chinese and Vietnamese airline, with the partnership combining route networks, while improving connectivity for passengers flying between the two countries through schedule coordination and code-share arrangements.
To facilitate passenger transfers, both carriers have introduced inter-airline through check-in (IATCI), which will allow passengers to obtain boarding passes for up to three connecting flight segments at their initial point of departure.
“The joint venture with Vietnam Airlines marks a significant step forward in our internationalization strategy,” said Zhang Dongsheng, deputy director general of commercial steering committee, China Southern Airlines.
The partnership will see an air bridge develop between the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Vietnam, in order to facilitate an alignment of China’s Belt and Road Initiative with Vietnam’s ‘Two Corridors and One Economic Circle’ plan, aiming to boost regional economic, trade and cultural exchanges.
Nguyen Quang Trung, director of corporate planning and development of Vietnam Airlines, commented: “The launch of a joint venture partnership with China Southern Airlines marks a new chapter in our cooperation, reinforcing our shared commitment to delivering enhanced value and seamless connectivity for our passengers on routes between China and Vietnam.”
In 2010, the two airlines began a code-share cooperation on routes between Vietnam and China, marking an important step forward in connecting the two aviation markets. The two airlines officially signed a comprehensive partnership agreement in 2022.