HO CHI MINH CITY, Dec 10: A United Airlines plane landed in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City on Friday _ the first commercial American airliner to fly to the country since the Vietnam war.

The flight, the first from the United States to Vietnam since 1975, carried 347 Vietnamese and American passengers. Flight 869 from San Francisco made a stop in Hong Kong before landing in Vietnam's most populous city, also known as Saigon.

It was from Saigon that the last American commercial flight, a Pan Am carrier, left Vietnam when US ally South Vietnam fell to communist forces in April 1975. Passengers disembarking at Tan Son Nhat International Airport were greeted by Vietnamese girls wearing traditional long dresses and carrying lotus-shaped lanterns.

US ambassador to Vietnam Michael Marine was among those waiting at the airport. Passengers included actor David Hasselhoff, travelling with a charity group bringing wheelchairs to distribute to the disabled in Vietnam.

United Airlines is offering a round-trip ticket between Ho Chi Minh City and San Francisco at 900 dollars, while national carrier Vietnam Airlines charges 1,100 dollars for the same journey in an agreement with Cathay Pacific.

United Airlines plans to market its new, daily service to California's large Vietnamese emigre community, many of whom Left Vietnam after the war. Friday's landing by the Boeing 747-400 in Ho Chi Minh City marks the third anniversary of a Hanoi-Washington trade pact. The former enemies now do five billion dollars a year in trade and will mark 10 years of diplomatic relations in July. -Reuters