The airline became the flag carrier of Vietnam in 1993, after having completed a restructuring programme that was started four years earlier. In that year, the airline split from the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) and became a state enterprise. The move was similar to the reorganization of the Chinese CAAC Airlines into several regional airlines in 1987. Despite the fact that the airline gained some independence from the CAAV, it was still known as "Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam" within the 1993–1996 period.