Two Vietnamese air carriers were asked on Thursday to use flight simulator systems to begin test flights between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on a controversial straight air route proposed by a retired pilot that crosses the airspace of Laos and Cambodia.
National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and no-frills airline VietJet Air were requested to cooperate with the Flight Moderation Office to develop the flight simulation plans for the new flying path, dubbed the “golden air route” by its proposer, according to a document signed by the chief of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.
The testing runs from August 29 to September 3, with pilots using the Boeing 777, Airbus A321, and A320 aircraft models during the simulated flights.
The two carriers must analyze and evaluate the flying costs and benefits of the “golden air route,” and report to the CAAV after finishing the test flights.
The CAAV said results from the flight simulators usually reach a 99 percent accuracy rate compared to the real flights, so they will form the basis for the authority to approve the new route.
The aviation watchdog will also cooperate with its Lao and Cambodian counterparts to complete procedures for Vietnam Airlines to have first-hand experience, or operate real flights, on the route.
The idea of opening a cross-Indochina air route emerged as early as the 1980s but it could not be realized for various reasons, according to the Ministry of Transport and the CAAV.
In March 2009, the CAAV received a proposal from Mai Trong Tuan, a retired pilot based in Ho Chi Minh City, on opening a straight route connecting the southern hub and the capital city along the 106 longitude, crossing Laos and Cambodia.
But following many conferences on the idea, the government ordered a stop to researches carried out to serve the proposal the same year.
In February 2012, Dr. Tran Dinh Ba, from the Vietnam Economic Association, also suggested replacing current air routes with straight paths that cross Cambodia and Laos, which he said would help save fuel and increase profits for flying airlines.
According to Ba, it would cost Vietnam Airlines only $3 million to invest in the new air routes, while the national carrier could save 65,000 tons of fuel together with 12,000 flying hours every year.
Vietnam would also rake in an additional $120 million thanks to the new routes, while the profits for Laos and Cambodia would be $25 million each, coming from airspace use fees.
While both Ba and Tuan were greeted with waves of objections from aviation experts, their propositions were viewed as “good ideas,” which were discussed among the Indochinese countries in the 1980s, by the Vietnamese transport ministry and the CAAV.
On Tuesday, Vietnamese Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang called on the government to resume researches on opening the “golden air route.”
The transport ministry has sought permission from the Prime Minister to collaborate with the Ministry of Defense, the Laos and Cambodia civil aviation authorities, and the Asia-Pacific office of the International Civil Aviation Organization to prepare steps for launching the new air route through the three countries.
Vietnamese airlines now fly their planes between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on a ’roundabout’ route that spans a sea area between the capital and Da Nang City in the central region and crosses over the mainland between Da Nang and the southern city.
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