An Air New Zealand flight arrived in Ho Chi Minh City from Auckland on Sunday, marking the launch of the first-ever nonstop service between Vietnam and the Oceanic nation.

Air New Zealand flight NZ 269 landed safely at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in the evening after an 11-hour journey, with New Zealand Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand Nguyen Viet Dung among the 200 passengers.

As announcedin November last year, the new route will operate three times a week on a seasonal basis, from June 5 to October 29, for the Kiwi airline to test market demand before determining whether to expand the season in subsequent years.

The Vietnam service is part of Air New Zealand’s plan to expand its Southeast Asian network, and is at the core of the airline’s strategy in the Pacific Rim, according to chief sales and commercial officer Cam Wallace.

Vietnam is an attractive destination for Kiwi travelers, thanks to a mixture of beaches, history and culture, Stuff.co.nz quoted Wallace as saying.

The newswire also quoted Minister Joyce as saying that the launch of the flight is important for New Zealand's relationship with Southeast Asia, as Vietnam has one of the world's fastest growing economies.

The minister said the Auckland-Ho Chi Minh City service will boost education, trade and tourism cooperation between the two countries, which are both members of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

In the meantime, Vietnamese Minister of Transport Truong Quang Nghia said the service will facilitate travel for people of both countries, and open up new cooperation and development opportunities in the fields of trade, investment and tourism.

The Auckland-Ho Chi Minh City service makes Vietnam the 30^th international destination of Air New Zealand, according to the carrier.

As of the end of March 2016, some 4,000 Vietnamese tourists had visited New Zealand, while Kiwi arrivals to Vietnam also posted a 20 percent increase against 2015, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

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