​Vietnam air carriers plan to expand international network

​Vietnam air carriers plan to expand international network

Vietnam’s national flag air carrier Vietnam Airlines and low-cost airline Vietjet are actively expanding their international routes to key destinations such as Russia, India, China, Japan, Italy, and Indonesia, in an effort to boost tourism.

Passengers wait in long queues to complete check-in procedures at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

In May, Vietnam Airlines will reach a significant milestone with the relaunch and opening of several international routes.

Notably, the Hanoi-Moscow route will resume after a three-year hiatus caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with a frequency of two flights per week in the initial period.

The route is considered strategic, contributing to strengthening the connection and reviving the aviation and tourism sectors between Vietnam and Russia.

Also in May, the airline will open two new routes to India, including the Hanoi-Bengaluru route set to begin on May 1, and the Hanoi-Hyderabad air service on May 7.

Each of the two routes will have three or four round-trip flights per week.

Previously, Vietnam Airlines successfully operated flights to Delhi and Mumbai, serving over 240,000 passengers through 1,600 flights.

Vietnam Airlines will launch the Ho Chi Minh City-Bali (Indonesia) air service on June 1, with a weekly frequency of four round-trip flights.

In July, the airline will become the first Vietnamese carrier to operate a direct flight between Hanoi and Milan, Italy, with a weekly frequency of three round-trip flights.

Currently, Vietnam Airlines also continues to operate direct flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, and London.

In 2025, the airline plans to launch 15 new international routes to Russia, Italy, Denmark, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the UAE.

Similarly, Vietjet is rushing to expand its network to the Asian region and Europe.

Vietjet opened several new routes to China to connect Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai this month.

In the Indian market, Vietjet launched two new routes from Ho Chi Minh City to Hyderabad and Bangalore on March 18 and 19, respectively.

Additionally, the airline has increased its flight frequencies to Japan, with 138 weekly flights from Vietnam to Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Hiroshima.

Starting on May 30, Vietjet will also operate a route between Singapore and Phu Quoc, with a frequency of four flights a week.

Meanwhile, other local airlines such as Bamboo Airways, Vietravel Airlines, and Pacific Airlines are mainly focusing on the domestic market due to facing challenges related to the number of available aircraft.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, the domestic aviation market is expected to grow by eight percent in 2025.

Airlines have added more than 10 new aircraft to their fleets, bringing the total number of planes to over 200.

Multiple international air carriers are eyeing the Vietnamese market, with Ethiopian Airlines, one of the leading airlines in Africa, planning to open the Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)-Hanoi route on July 10, with four flights per week.

Meanwhile, the Russian market is also regaining momentum, launching numerous charter flights from several cities such as Moscow, Barnaul, Tomsk, Blagoveshchensk, Vladivostok, and Irkutsk to Cam Ranh International Airport in south-central Khanh Hoa Province this month.

Tuoi Tre News