Dragonair to launch Hanoi service

Thanks to Blogger for getting this Blog back on track, removing it from their spam list, no clue what really happened.

Anyway, a bit off topic but nevertheless today is luck day 8-8-08, for many Chinese and eventually final minutes before start to Olympics are counting down with millions across globe watching opening tonight. I am very much looking forward to show in just over 2 hours time...

Still, a piece of news crossed my desk today, with regards to flights to Hanoi.

Dragonair has announced it will launch a daily flight to Hanoi on October 26, using the Airbus 320.

Subject to government approval, tentatively, flight KA295 will depart Hong Kong on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 08.45 and arrive in Hanoi at 09.45. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, it will depart at 18.05 and arrive at Hanoi 19.00.

Return flight KA294 will depart Hanoi on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday at 10.45 and arrive in Hong Kong at 13.35. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, it will depart at 19.55 and arrive in Hong Kong at 22.50.

Plane abandoned at Hanoi Airport

Funny story from BBC about this airplane which was abandoned at Hanoi Airport last year....

Vietnamese authorities say they are mystified as to who owns a Boeing 727 which has been abandoned at Hanoi's Noi Bai airport. The plane was flown in from Siem Reap in neighbouring Cambodia in late 2007 and has been unclaimed ever since. Officials say the plane could belong to a Cambodian airline.

An airport official told the BBC that they believe the owners could be an airline based in Cambodia. The official said that if it remains unclaimed, the plane will have to be sent for scrap.
The plane has a Cambodian flag on its fuselage and is emblazoned with the name Air Dream, but the authorities say they have no information about the airline.

Earlier, one security official at Noi Bai airport told the BBC's Vietnamese Service that the plane belongs to bankrupt budget Cambodian airline Royal Khmer, but this is not certain. Permission was originally given for the plane to remain at the airport while essential maintenance was carried out but these repairs have not been done.

Online newspaper VietnamNet reported that the owners could be unable or unwilling to pay the required airport parking fees.