For Vietnamese and expats who frequently travel between Vietnam and the U.S., you may not have to endure long stop overs much longer.

On Monday, Boeing Co. and the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) signed an agreement, witnessed by the Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Transport, Nguyen Ngoc Dong, and U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius, wherein the airplane manufacturer will help to implement the strict standards needed to launch non-stop passenger and cargo services to the U.S., according to Tuoi Tre.

Boeing will provide technical and training assistance to the CAAV in order for the latter to gain a Category 1 rating by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which allows for the non-stop flights. A Category 1 rating means that “the air carriers from the assessed state may initiate or continue service to the United States in a normal manner and take part in reciprocal code-share arrangements with U.S. carriers,” according to the aviation administration.

Categorization is determined by The FAA’s International Aviation Safety Assessment Program (IASA) which decides if airlines based outside of the U.S. meet necessary standards.

State-owned Vietnam Airlines already has the equipment to fly direct routes to the U.S. with their fleet of Boeing 777-200ERs and has put in orders for 14 Airbus A350-900s and 19 Boeing 787-9s with deliveries starting this year.

[Tuoi Tre // Photo via byeangel on Flickr]