ANA and Vietnam Airlines Sign Deal to Pursue Japan–Vietnam Joint Venture

TOKYO, Nov. 9, 2026 — All Nippon Airways (NH) and Vietnam Airlines (VN) exchanged a basic agreement on Monday to pursue a joint venture on routes between Japan and Vietnam, going beyond the codeshare and mileage partnership they already share.

What was agreed

The two airlines plan to coordinate schedules and fares jointly on Japan–Vietnam routes.
Options under study include optimized combined schedules, common fares, more domestic connections inside both Japan and Vietnam, onward services to third countries, and shared airport and mileage services.
Start date, routes and number of flights: TBA.
Approval: the venture needs antitrust immunity first. ANA President Koichi Hirasawa said he hopes to launch as soon as possible, but no implementation date has been set.

A cross-alliance tie-up

ANA is a Star Alliance member and Vietnam Airlines belongs to SkyTeam, so the joint venture would cut across alliance lines. The relationship dates to 2016, when ANA Holdings took a capital and business alliance stake in Vietnam Airlines. Vietnam Airlines CEO Le Hong Ha attended the Tokyo signing, as did To Lam, Vietnam’s Communist Party General Secretary and President.

Note: details come from TRAICY’s English edition, which is machine-translated from Japanese.

What it means for non-revs

Nothing changes yet. No staff-travel terms were part of the announcement, and nothing happens until antitrust approval.
If the venture goes ahead, coordinated schedules could change how departures are spread across the day on Japan–Vietnam routes. Watch for schedule changes before you plan around a specific flight.
Because the two carriers sit in different alliances, don’t assume alliance-based ZED or interline terms carry across. Check each airline’s own agreement with your carrier.