HANOI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam has set a target to have 190-210 commercial airplanes, and rank fifth in the Southeast Asia in air transport by 2020, according to a draft proposal by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) released on Monday.
The country will increase the number of planes with advanced technologies, energy saving and environment friendliness.
Among the 190-210 aircraft, the state-run Vietnam Airlines will have 140-150 planes while other carriers will have some 50-60 planes, said the proposal.
During 2015-2020 period, Vietnam Airlines will launch new air routes to the United States (San Francisco, Los Angeles), India ( New Delhi, Mumbai), New Zealand (Wellington), the United Arab Emirates (Dubai) and Qatar (Doha), local VNEconomy online newspaper quoted the draft proposal as saying.
Meanwhile, by 2020, the country's domestic passenger transport by air will account for 3.23 percent of the national transportation, while that of domestic cargo transport by air will account for 0.04 percent by 2020.
Frequency of flights in current air routes at all domestic airports is set to reach at least seven flights per week.
According to statistics by CAAV, in 2014, a total of 45 foreign airlines from 25 countries and regions had flights to/from Vietnam, with 83 air routes connecting 47 foreign cities to Vietnam's capital Hanoi, southern Ho Chi Minh City and central Da Nang city.
Currently, there are four Vietnam-registered airlines, including Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific, Vietnam Air Services Company (VASCO) and VietJetAir, operating 56 international air routes to 32 cities of 17 countries and regions.