Switzerland’s largest airline opens new route to Vietnam On May 30, Edelweiss, Switzerland's leading leisure airline, announced it will open a direct air route between HCM City and Zurich this November, serving two flights per week as part of the carrier’s plan to expand its flight network in Asia.   This is the first direct air route between Vietnam and Switzerland, aiming to reduce travel times, stimulate tourism demands, and trade between the two countries. Some travel agents are preparing to launch online ticketing services to help passengers to purchase tickets easily. Edelweiss CEO, Bernd Bauer, said that Vietnam has become popular among Swiss people thanks to the attractive destinations on offer. The airline expects to serve 10,500 passengers traveling from Switzerland to HCM City each year, earning a revenue of US$32 million per year. The new air route helps to bring tourists from Switzerland and Europe closer to Vietnam and provides a wide range of options for connecting flights from Zurich to other famous tourist attractions through the Swiss airline. At present, Edelweiss are working with major travel operators in Vietnam to design tour packages for the new route between Vietnam and Switzerland. The predicted passenger growth for the route suggests an increase of about 10% per year over the next 3-4 years. According to the General Statistics Office, in the first five months of the year, more than 16,500 Swiss passengers arrived in Vietnam, up 4.2% against the same period last year. As a wealthy country, Switzerland’s tourists tend to spend more when holidaying abroad than visitors from other nations. VOV