Vietnam Airlines looks set to commence two new air routes linking Vietnam and Japan this July to capitalize on rising demand for air travel between the two nations.

As scheduled, the national flagship carrier will launch seven weekly flights between Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi and Haneda Airport in Tokyo on July 1 and four weekly services between Danang International Airport and Narita International Airport on July 16 using Airbus A321.

The new Hanoi-Haneda route will provide passengers with more options to travel between Hanoi and Tokyo as Vietnam Airlines now services the Hanoi-Narita run. Meanwhile, the Danang-Narita route is expected to help attract more Japanese tourists to central Vietnam.

Currently, Vietnam Airlines is selling discount fares exclusive of airport tax and surcharges for flights on the new routes. The return fares for the Hanoi-Haneda are priced from US$299 for bookings before June 15 and departures between July 1 and 15 while the two-way tickets for the Danang-Narita are from US$349 for bookings before December 31 and departures between July 16 and December 31.

The new routes will have 62 flights per week connecting Vietnam’s three major cities of HCMC, Hanoi and Danang to Japan’s Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka and Nagoya.

In addition to Vietnam Airlines, All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines also offer non-stop flights between Vietnam and the country in northeast Asia.

Figures of the General Statistics Office showed Vietnam attracted more than 222,270 Japanese in the first four months of this year, a year-on-year increase of nearly 8.5%.