Summary

  • Vietjet rapidly expands successful routes to maximize potential and profits.
  • Growing network includes increased flights between Vietnam and South Korea.
  • Australian expansion adds Hanoi to Melbourne and Sydney nonstop services.

When Vietnam’s largest independent airline, Vietjet, finds a route that does well, it invariably adds more resources and capacity within a short time to capture all the potential it possibly can. What the low-cost carrier has achieved in Australia since arriving in April 2023 is a primary example, and it is doing the same across Asia, particularly between Vietnam and South Korea.

Southeast Asia is fertile ground

While its fares are super low, Vietjet is expanding at a rapid pace, and with more than 100 Airbus aircraft in its fleet, it has the capacity to swoop when opportunities arise. With the peak summer season now upon us, Vietjet has added 1.4 million seats to its domestic network, equating to a 35% increase in capacity to an already busy domestic and international network.

Vietjet Airbus A321neo

Photo: Airbus

Last week, the Ho Chi Minh City-based carrier announced it had increased frequencies on the nonstop service linking Phu Quoc, a world-class holiday destination located off the southwest coast of Vietnam, with South Korea’s capital, Seoul. Those flights have now increased from two to three return flights weekly.

From July 19, Vietjet will also double its flight frequency between the beach cities of Nha Trang in Vietnam and Busan in South Korea from one to two daily return flights. These expansions mean that the airline now offers up to 21 return flights daily between Vietnam and South Korea, the equivalent of 147 return flights weekly.

Travelers can choose from 11 nonstop services connecting Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc and Hai Phong with Seoul and Busan. Yesterday, the afternoon flight VJ974 departed Phu Quoc International (PQC) at 15:49 and, after a 5:12-hour flight, landed at Seoul Incheon International (ICN) at 23:01.

Vietjet Phu Quoc PQC - Seoul Incheon ICN Map

Passengers on that flight enjoyed the quiet, modern cabin on the 2022 Airbus A321neo, registration VN-A526 and MSN 10434, which departed Seoul at 01:45 on Sunday and arrived in Phu Quoc at 04:41. This particular new-generation A321neo operates regularly from Vietnam to Fukuoka (FUK) in Japan and Taipei (TPE) in Taiwan, as well as domestically between Hanoi (HAN) and Da Nang (DAD).

Vietjet has also increased flights connecting Phu Quoc with Kaohsiung and Taichung in Taiwan, making it the only airline providing nonstop flights between Phu Quoc and Taiwan’s three largest cities, including Taipei. Vietjet is now offering nine Vietnam-Taiwan services.

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The service to Taichung started on June 13 and operates three return flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The flights to Kaohsiung began on June 14 and operate four round trips weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Hanoi now linked to Australia

In a little over a year, Vietjet has grown its Australian network to include five destinations from Ho Chi Minh City: Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. This month, it started services linking the capital, Hanoi, to Melbourne and Sydney with nonstop Airbus A330 widebody flights.

Vietjet Airbus A330 16:9

Photo: Vietjet

On June 4, Vietjet inaugurated its service between Hanoi Noi Bai International (HAN) and Melbourne Airport (MEL), followed a few days later with the inaugural flight from Hanoi to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD). Both routes launched with twice-weekly services, but given its track record in Australia, it’s highly probable that Viejet will add more flights in the coming months.

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Vietjet Launches Airbus A330s From Hanoi To Melbourne

Primarily driven by Vietjet and Melbourne Airport the market between Vietnam and Melbourne has grown by 60% from pre-pandemic levels.

Vietjet operates its Airbus A330-300s on the new routes, configured in a two-class layout of 377 seats, including 12 in business class and 365 in the main cabin. The A330s operate all services to Australia except for the Ho Chi Minh City flights to Adelaide via Perth, which have been launched with single-aisle Airbus A321neos.

Have you flown with Vietjet? Let us know in the comments.

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