Director of Vietnam Airlines’ branch in France and Europe Cao Anh Son revealed the target at a meeting with more than 100 partners in Paris on January 31.

He said the carrier also targets a 13% increase in revenue and an 8.3% rise in the number of passengers in 2018.

According to Son, the firm operated 180,000 safe flights in 2017, serving nearly 26.5 million passengers, up 6.7% against the previous year. 

The on-time performance (OTP) rate of departing flights reached over 90%, turning Vietnam Airlines into one of the world's leading airlines with the highest OTP. 

Vietnam Airlines also continued to affirm its position as the four-star international airlines in line with  Skytrax’s standards in the second consecutive year, with the fleet of 10 Airbus A350-900 XWB  and 11 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. 

Representatives from Vietnam Airlines partners in Europe said the carrier has improved its services under the four-star standards, thus bringing convenient services and interesting experience to passengers. 

They hoped the Vietnamese Government will add more countries to the list of those entitled to visa exemption apart from France, the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain, adding that this will help increase competitiveness of the national flag carrier in attracting more customers. 

Airfare agents and travel agencies took the occasion to share information and seek partners, thus promoting sales of tickets and tours to Vietnam.