Canberra (Australia), March 14, 2018 –Vietnam Airlines has officially announced Australian-Vietnamese Chef Luke Nguyen as its Global Cuisine Ambassador, with the mission to further promote Vietnamese cuisine and culture to the world.

From 2018 to 2020, Luke Nguyen will take an important role in improving the quality and originality of in-flight meals for Vietnam Airlines. This "Culinary magician" will create eight new dishes for Business Class inspired by his travels across Vietnam (North, Central, South and Hue). The partnership between Luke Nguyen and Vietnam Airlines comes from a shared attitude of respecting cultural values. While ensuring safety is a must, Vietnam Airlines' aspiration is to turn every flight into an experience in which passengers are inspired by the cultural beauty of the destination they are travelling to. The dishes will be designed, prepared and presented with authentic Vietnamese flavours in harmonious combination with refreshments and side dishes. Luke Nguyen will also provide further guidance to Vietnam Airlines' catering company VACS throughout 2018 regarding the 50 Business Class menus it oversees for other international airlines. In celebration of this new partnership Luke Nguyen, in cooperation with Vietnam Airlines, will be promoting Vietnamese cuisine to the world through large-scale international cultural and trade events throughout 2018.

At the signing ceremony, Mr. Le Hong Ha, the Executive Vice President of Vietnam Airlines, said: “As the national flag carrier, we are passionate about promoting the cultural values of Vietnam to the world. From now on, passengers travelling with Vietnam Airlines will be cordially invited to indulge in the delightful dishes crafted under the expert guidance of Luke Nguyen. Together, Vietnam Airlines and Luke will raise the profile of Vietnamese cuisine into a respectable kind of art, so that it is not only a national pride, but also the first cultural touch point that welcomes foreigners to Vietnam.”

Chef Luke Nguyen, Global Cuisine Ambassador of Vietnam Airlines, said: “I always believe that food is a cultural heritage that is both familiar and diverse, reflecting the soul, character and value of each nation. I hope to bring dishes that are imbued with Vietnamese national identity and consistent with the rich taste tourists experience throughout the continents on Vietnam Airlines flights. Thanks to Vietnam Airlines for giving me the opportunity to further deepen my connection with my hometown on the homecoming journey. I am greatly looking forward to this exciting yet challenging role and introducing passengers to the art of Vietnamese cuisine”

The introduction of a Vietnamese chef as Vietnam Airlines' first Global Cuisine Ambassador is part of the airlines wider strategy to improve service quality and passengers' experience. High standards, attentive, personalised care is the pilar of Vietnam Airlines offering and has helped the airline to maintain the Skytrax 4-Star rating for two straight years. Further to this the airline was awarded the honorable “World's Leading Cultural Airline” by World Travel Awards in 2017. Positioning itself as a dynamic, creative and modern airline brand which is characterized by Vietnam's rich culture and national identity with international 4-star standards, Vietnam Airlines is on the road to become a 5-Star Airline in the near future.

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Notes to editors

Vietnam Airlines is the flag carrier of Vietnam and the major carrier in the Mekong sub-region, operating 90 routes to 20 domestic and 29 international destinations with an average of 400 flights per day. Vietnam Airlines has been certified as a 4-Star Airline for 2 consecutive years by the prestigious Skytrax, the world's leading airline and airport rating organization. During 22 years of development at a 2-digit annual growth rate, Vietnam Airlines has achieved a remarkable advancement to become a major airline in Asia's aviation market. In June 2010, Vietnam Airlines joined SkyTeam Alliance, affirming the carrier's new position on the global aviation map as a strategic partner of the alliance in Southeast Asia region. In 2015, Vietnam Airlines became the first airline in the world to operate both next-generation aircraft- Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner & Airbus A350-9XWB- at the same time. Positioning itself as a modern carrier whose brand is characterized by Vietnam's rich culture and national identity, Vietnam Airlines is striving to become one of the most favorable carriers in the Asia-Pacific region.

About Luke Nguyen

Luke Nguyen is a renowned Vietnamese-Australian chef. At the age of forty, he has more than 30 years of cooking experience under his belt. Known for his dedication and passion for cooking, he was nominated to be a member of the prestigious Food Hall of Fame and became a regarded celebrity chef with many restaurants around the world, including Red Lantern, Moi Moi by Luke Nguyen, Vietnam House, etc. He has also published 7 cookbooks, examples being the famous Secrets of the Red Lantern (with Mark Jensen) & The Songs of Sa Pa. Furthermore, he has hosted a variety of television shows about food and culture, broadcast in over 150 countries, such as Luke Nguyen's Vietnam, Luke Nguyen's Greater Mekong, Luke Nguyen's France, Luke Nguyen's UK. Luke was also one of the three judges of Master Chef Vietnam Season 1 and 2, and was a special guest on Gordon Ramsay's Great Escape and Master Chef Australia TV show. On top of that, Luke has previous experience as a brand ambassador for Etihad Airways, responsible for designing menus on the airline's flights to and from Vietnam for First Class, Business Class to Economy Class.

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