Vietnam Airlines (repatriation flight) Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner (VN-A874) arriving at Toronto Lester B. Pearson International Airport on a perfectly sunny Friday morning 2020 - Photo by Robson Smith
Vietnam Airlines (repatriation flight) Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner (VN-A874) arriving at Toronto Lester B. Pearson International Airport (YYZ) from Hanoi Noi Bài International Airport (HAN) on a perfectly sunny Friday morning 2020. Strikingly unique, this flight, VN68, is in no way a regularly operated service between HAN and YYZ; Vietnam Airlines is, thus, seen finishing its third Toronto repatriation flight since the COVID-19 crisis began. What is more, due to the inherently unpredictable nature of these repatriation schedulings, the Vietnam carrier may very well never serve Toronto again. Equally noteworthy is this aircraft. (As a particullarly interesting factoid, note that although the 787-10 is capable of flying non-stop between Hanoi and Toronto, the same is not true for the reture trip, which requires a stop at, in this case, Sapporo, Japan, Japan.THis is partly due to prevailing jet streams - why flying east (HAN-YYZ) is typically faster than flying west (YYZ-HAN)). Delivered in March of 2020, VN-A874 marks one of the most recent additions to Vietnam's fleet; however, more impressivly, its delivery flight (from the production facility in Charleston, North Carolina, to Hanoi) exceeded the theoretical max range of the 787-10 (approx. 12,100km or 7,530 miles). With a flight in excess of 17 hours, VN-A874 actually travelled some 13,900 km, 8,690 miles, although this is a common exercise in the aviation industry (one contributing factor is the absence of passngers and therefore lower weight). The modern Vietnam Airlines dates to 1956, when the North Vietnamese government established a national carrier to service the country, named Vietnam Civil Aviation. Throughout the ensuing decades, the enterprise expanded its operations, launching international services to Beijing and Vientiane, Laos, in 1976; however, due to a trade embargo barring the country from operating American technology (including aircraft), the company relied upon an inefficient Soviet fleet. This notwithstanding, in 1990, Vietnam Airlines attempted to acquire western aircraft, with the Airbus A310 and Boeing 737. Both failed (the A310 used American-made engines). Finally, the trade prohibition was lifted in 1994, after which the airline quickly ordered a plethora of western-designed aircraft, a trend which continues today. Then, in 1995, it was incorporated into the new Vietnam Airlines Corporation. This is the airline's official foundation date. Nowadays, the group possesses one of the most modern airliner fleets in the world; in fact, when they became the second airline to operate the Airbus A350-900 in 2015 (after Qatar), Vietnam airlines cemented its place as the first operator to simultaneously fly both the cutting-edge Boeing 787-9 and state-of-the-art Airbus A350-900. Moreover, their livery, deployed in 2003, coincided with the first Boeing 777-200(ER) acquisition of early 2003. The "Golden Lotus", as it is known, has become the primary identity of the airline, proudly displayed on the aircraft's vertial fin. With their slogan "Reach Further", Vietnam Airlines has indeed demonstrated the power of tenacity through a decades-long crippling embargo. Enjoy the image!