Vietnam Airlines (VN, Hanoi Noi Bai International) will retire its fleet of ten A330-200s and eight B777-200(ER)s over the next three years CEO, Pham Ngoc Minh, has said. Discussing the airline's much anticipated upcoming IPO, Pham said the widebodies would be replaced by ten A350-900s and eight B787-9s the first models of which are expected to begin arriving next year.

The new aircraft, Pham said, would allow the airline to begin services to the United States though their launch would depend on weighing the risks up given that flights to North America, while longer than European flights, are only slightly more profitable.

"Therefore, after equitization, investors may want to give priority to flights to Europe than to open a route to the United States," he said.

The signing of a Bilateral Air Services Agreement between Vietnam and the US in 2003 allows US airlines to serve Hanoi Noi Bai International, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang while Vietnamese carriers are allowed to serve five destinations in the US.

In 2005, Vietnam Airlines announced plans to commence services to San Francisco though these never materialized.

Currently, there are no scheduled carriers connecting the US directly with Vietnam.