Vietjet foreseen to beat Vietnam Airlines in domestic market in March
Vietjet foreseen to beat Vietnam Airlines in domestic market in March
Low-cost Vietjet may surpass national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines as the country’s largest domestic carrier by seat capacity in 2016, an aviation consultancy has forecast.
Vietjet currently has 40 percent of the domestic market share, whereas the respective shares of Jetstar and market leader Vietnam Airlines are 15 and 45 percent, according to the CAPA – Center for Aviation, an independent aviation market analysis group.
In March this year, Vietjet will have an about 43 percent share of domestic seat capacity compared with 42 percent of Vietnam Airlines, and 15 percent of Jetstar, CAPA said.
Vietjet’s total seat capacity is currently about 261,000 seats per week, up 74 percent year on year, CAPA said in a report dated January 2.
Specifically, the total capacity for the domestic market has surged 82 percent year on year to some 242,000 weekly seats, whereas the figure for the international market has also risen 30 percent to around 19,000 seats per week, according to the report.
According to CAPA, the Vietnamese budget airline is planning further domestic expansion in the coming months, which will see it supersede Vietnam Airlines as the largest domestic carrier “for the first time in its history.”
“Vietjet’s domestic capacity will reach almost 259,000 weekly seats in March 2016, which represents a seven percent increase compared to current levels, and a 73 percent increase compared to March 2015,” the aviation consultancy said, citing data from OAG, a UK-based air travel intelligence firm.
Vietjet is therefore keeping up its year-on-year expansion rate, which is currently already high, and is expected to have more domestic capacity than Vietnam Airlines for the first time in March this year, according to CAPA.
However, the national flag carrier could still potentially add capacity to its March 2016 schedule, as Vietnamese carriers often make “last-second adjustments,” the market analyst noted.
In 2016, Vietjet is poised to continue adding domestic capacity throughout the year, with a focus on trunk routes, CAPA said in a separate analysis on its website on Wednesday.
Particularly, on the Ho Chi Minh City – Hanoi service, Vietjet targets a 35 percent capacity increase over the next three months, which will also enable it to become the market leader on Vietnam’s largest route, according to CAPA.
The budget carrier’s share of seat capacity on the service is expected to reach almost 50 percent in April, from the current 40 percent.
Ho Chi Minh City – Hanoi is the seventh largest route in the world and recorded the fastest growth over the last year among the global top ten largest routes, according to a separate CAPA report.
Vietjet has also increased capacity over the last year by at least 29 percent on all of its top ten domestic routes.
More increases are planned for 2016 across nearly all trunk routes, fortifying Vietjet’s bid to capture a 50 percent share of Vietnam’s domestic market, according to CAPA.
Vietjet currently operates 30 domestic routes and ten international routes. It will start offering three new services, Pleiku - Hai Phong, Pleiku - Vinh, and Ho Chi Minh City - Tuy Hoa in January.
The inaugural Pleiku – Hai Phong flight is scheduled for January 15, and the Pleiku – Vinh route begins immediately the following day. The Ho Chi Minh City – Tuy Hoa service will be inaugurated on January 20.
To celebrate these newest routes, Vietjet is launching a three-day promotion with 50,000 fabulous fares just from VND0 from January 6 to 8, applicable to traveling periods from January 15 to December 31.
The carrier said on Thursday it will add 800 flights to the initial schedule during the peak time of Vietnam’s Lunar New Year from January 20 to February 20. The addition of 150,000 tickets is expected to offer passengers more choices with economical expense for their travel plans.
Vietjet now has 30 A320’s and A321’s in its fleet, offering 190 flights on a daily basis with 43 domestic and international routes.
Last year it carried some 12 million passengers, and targets to serve 15 million flyers in 2016.
