A number of foreign airlines have begun services to Viet Nam.

Finland's Finnair, one of them, has chosen Bien Dong travel firm as its general agent.

According to Retteri Kostemaa, the carrier's Southeast Asia business director, the airline is considering starting a direct service from Helsinki in the near future.

From Viet Nam, Finnair will team up with other airlines, including Vietnam Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Jetstar, to create transit points – connecting with its flights to Helsinki, other domestic destinations in Finland, and 60 European destinations.

Earlier, a number of other well-known airlines announced increases in their number of flights or the start of new air services to Viet Nam.

Cebu Pacific of the Philippines has begun a twice-weekly service between Manila and Ha Noi.

In March the US's United Airlines and Japan's ANA announced an expansion of their trans-Pacific joint venture, enabling them to co-operate on airfares and networks on the Viet Nam-US sector.-VNS