Vietnam's Vietjet to launch more services to India to tap growing interest

As Vietnam is largely becoming an emerging tourism destination for Indian travellers, Vietjet, the country's largest private carrier, is getting ready to tap this growing interest by expanding its service to India connecting more cities.

A new route connecting Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu) and Ho Chi Minh City is expected to be launched this November, airline authorities said here.

Direct flight services from Kerala's Kochi to Ho Chi Minh City had already been launched by the private carrier from Cochin International Airport in August.

A senior airline official said here that Vietjet currently has 32 return flights servicing India each week.

"From November, Vietjet is expected to launch a new route connecting Tiruchirappalli and Ho Chi Minh City and 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," the official, who doesn't want to be named, said.

Vietjet would like to eventually expand its services to all capital cities in India, he said.

The official was speaking in Ho Chi Minh City during a recent interaction with a select media delegation from India.

Explaining reasons for their plan to increase its connectivity, he said Vietnam is an emerging tourism destination for Indian travellers, while many Vietnamese are also very curious to explore one of oldest civilisations in Asia.

"Vietjet's entry into the market has increased the total number of passengers travelling between Vietnam and India in the first six months of 2023 to over 3 lakh, nearly five times higher than 70,000 passengers recorded in the same period last year," he said.

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, he said.

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, he further said.

When asked how Vietjet's expansion would benefit the Indian economy, the official said 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 added.

Further explaining their future plans for Indian passengers, the official said Vietjet recently added a seventh A330 to its fleet to meet demand in the region. By the end on 2023, the airline expects to have a total of 10 A330s, he added.

Vietjet has been operating for over a decade with around 450 flights daily across 120 routes connecting Vietnam with other countries across Asia and Australia.