Vietjet Looking At Expanding Services In India With New Route From Tiruchirappalli To Ho Chi Minh City From November

Reportedly, the number of passengers travelling between Vietnam and India has increased to more than 3 lakh in the first half of 2023, against 70,000 passengers in the same period a year ago.

With Vietnam becoming increasingly popular among Indian tourists, Vietjet is reportedly planning to expand it’s services to India by connecting more cities. Vietjet is Vietnam’s largest private carrier. 

According to a PTI report, airline authorities in Vietnam said that the airline will be launching a new route connecting Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, India, and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. 

The report cited an anonymous senior official with the airline who said that Vietjet is operating 32 return flights servicing India on a weekly basis. The airline is looking at launching another route between Tiruchirappalli and Ho Chi Minh City in November. Elaborating on the airline’s scheme, the official said, “We have plans to have an initial frequency of three return flights per week, in order to meet rising demand from travellers in both countries.”

Recently in August, direct flights from Kochi (Kerala) to Ho Chi Minh City were launched by the airline. The official noted that Vietjet is planning to expand it’s services to include all capital cities in India eventually, while interacting with a media delegation from India. 

Commenting on the expansion plans, he added, “Vietnam is an emerging tourism destination for Indian travellers, while many Vietnamese are also very curious to explore one of oldest civilisations in Asia.”

Notably, with Vietjet entering the market, the number of passengers travelling between Vietnam and India has increased to more than 3 lakh in the first half of 2023. This number is nearly five times higher than the 70,000 passengers recorded in the same period a year earlier, the official said. 

Outlining the current flight routes, the official added, “In particular, for routes connecting to Ho Chi Minh City, we have seven round-trip flights from Ahmedabad weekly, and four round-trip flights from Delhi, Mumbai, and Kochi, respectively. For routes connecting to Hanoi, there are seven round-trip flights weekly from Ahmedabad, three round-trip flights from Delhi, and another three from Mumbai.”

The airline official further noted that this expansion would be mutually beneficial for both countries as, “The airline's new routes would deliver sustainable growth in tourism, trade, and economy in both Vietnam and India. Our commitment and passion is to make air travel more affordable for both Vietnamese and Indian people, help stimulate bilateral growth in tourism, trade, and economy, and maintain and grow our presence in the Indian market while ensuring quality service to meet Indian demand.”

He stated that Vietjet recently increased it’s fleet to include a seventh A330 to cater to the demand in the region. Further, the airline plans to have a fleet of 10 A330s by 2023 end.