VietJetAir Increases Domestic Presence Ahead of International Launch

Vietnamese low-cost carrier VietJetAir last week launched a new route linking Ho Chi Minh City with the former imperial city of Hue, expanding its network in the country to seven domestic destinations. It has also confirmed it will introduce new routes from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc and Hanoi to Dalat before the end of the year and that international flights to Bangkok will begin in February next year.

The carrier introduced the daily link between Ho Chi Minh City and Hue on November 22, 2012 facilitating improved business ties between the two destinations. The route is already served by Vietnam Airlines on a four times daily basis. Last year an estimated 398,000 O&D passengers travelled on this route, with average one way fares of $158, a figure the low-cost carrier will certainly reduce with its own fare structure designed to stimulate demand.

“We are delighted to connect Vietnam's largest city with one of the most attractive tourism destinations in the country. This is further testament to our firm commitment to aiding the development of tourism and trade in Vietnam,” said Pritam Singh, Deputy Director, VietJetAir.

“With such an incredible heritage and history, and so much natural beauty, Hue is one of the most precious and fascinating destinations in Southeast Asia - we are certain both domestic and foreign tourists will take advantage of our high quality and highly affordable flights to visit Hue and surrounding localities,” he added.

The budget carrier became the first privately owned airline to be established in Vietnam after the Vietnamese Minister of Finance approved its operating licence in November 2007 but it was not until December 25, 2011 that the carrier launched scheduled operations between Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi. VietJet Air is now one of five airlines providing domestic services in the Asian country, a market dominated by national carrier Vietnam Airlines.

The airline has now expanded its network to also include Da Nang, Hai Phong, Nha Trang and Vinh, with the new daily flights to Da Lat and twice daily services to Phu Quoc scheduled to commence on December 7, 2012 and December 12, 2012, respectively, less than a month after its recent expansion to Hue.

As our schedule analysis earlier this month revealed, (click here to see data) capacity in the domestic Vietnamese market will grow again this year after eleven successive years of double-digit growth. In 2000 there were 2.37 million domestic seats, rising to 14.38 million last year, more than a six-fold increase. This year VietJetAir has already secured a 7.1 per cent share of the domestic capacity in Vietnam.