VietJet starts regional expansion
Vietnam’s low-cost carrier VietJet is making its first expansion step outside of Vietnam and will launch flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok on February 10, 2013.
The new route breaks the monopoly of Thai AirAsia in budget air travel between Thailand and Vietnam. To kick off sales, VietJet has offered one-way tickets on the route on its homepage on December 20 for just 99,000 Vietnamese dong ($4.50) plus taxes. It also appointed a new sales agent for Thailand, Quality Express Tour.
VietJet gears up its international expansion with a fleet of new A320 narrow-body jets with 180 seats. Flights between Bangkok and Hanoi will follow in May 2013, the carrier said.
VietJet Air now has nine domestic routes on a network that links Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Nha Trang, Danang, Vinh and Hai Phong, Hue, Da Lat and Phu Quoc. More international routes linking Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to major destinations in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia will be launched in 2013, according to Desmond Lin, VietJet’s Business Development Director.
VietJet was launched in December 2011 as Vietnam’s first privately owned airline and is one of the country’s five carriers besides Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific, Mekong Airlines and Vietnam Air Service Company. Its founding shareholders are Sovico Holdings, HCMC Housing Joint Stock Commercial Bank and some individuals from Vietnam’s civil aviation industry.
AirAsia in December 2011 was close to buy a 30 per cent stake of VietJet to form a joint-venture, VietJet AirAsia. However, the deal was called off after AirAsia failed to receive regulatory approval from Vietnam authorities.
VietJet made it in the news in August 2012 when it staged an inflight bikini show performed by beauty queens to promote its inaugural flight between Ho Chi Minh City and the tourist center of Nha Trang. The airline was fined 20 million Vietnamese dong or about $960 for violating local aviation regulations.
“It was the first flight to a beach town, so we came up with the idea of getting a number of girls in bikinis to dance and make passengers happy to improve our customer service,” a VietJet Air official was quoted as saying.
He did not disclose what kind of show the airline plans for the inaugural Bangkok flight in February.
Vietnam's low-cost carrier VietJet is making its first expansion step outside of Vietnam and will launch flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok on February 10, 2013. The new route breaks the monopoly of Thai AirAsia in budget air travel between Thailand and Vietnam. To kick off sales, VietJet has offered one-way tickets on the route on its homepage on December 20 for just 99,000 Vietnamese dong ($4.50) plus taxes. It also appointed a new sales agent for Thailand, Quality Express Tour. VietJet gears up its international expansion with a fleet of new A320 narrow-body jets with 180 seats....
Vietnam’s low-cost carrier VietJet is making its first expansion step outside of Vietnam and will launch flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok on February 10, 2013.
The new route breaks the monopoly of Thai AirAsia in budget air travel between Thailand and Vietnam. To kick off sales, VietJet has offered one-way tickets on the route on its homepage on December 20 for just 99,000 Vietnamese dong ($4.50) plus taxes. It also appointed a new sales agent for Thailand, Quality Express Tour.
VietJet gears up its international expansion with a fleet of new A320 narrow-body jets with 180 seats. Flights between Bangkok and Hanoi will follow in May 2013, the carrier said.
VietJet Air now has nine domestic routes on a network that links Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Nha Trang, Danang, Vinh and Hai Phong, Hue, Da Lat and Phu Quoc. More international routes linking Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to major destinations in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia will be launched in 2013, according to Desmond Lin, VietJet’s Business Development Director.
VietJet was launched in December 2011 as Vietnam’s first privately owned airline and is one of the country’s five carriers besides Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific, Mekong Airlines and Vietnam Air Service Company. Its founding shareholders are Sovico Holdings, HCMC Housing Joint Stock Commercial Bank and some individuals from Vietnam’s civil aviation industry.
AirAsia in December 2011 was close to buy a 30 per cent stake of VietJet to form a joint-venture, VietJet AirAsia. However, the deal was called off after AirAsia failed to receive regulatory approval from Vietnam authorities.
VietJet made it in the news in August 2012 when it staged an inflight bikini show performed by beauty queens to promote its inaugural flight between Ho Chi Minh City and the tourist center of Nha Trang. The airline was fined 20 million Vietnamese dong or about $960 for violating local aviation regulations.
“It was the first flight to a beach town, so we came up with the idea of getting a number of girls in bikinis to dance and make passengers happy to improve our customer service,” a VietJet Air official was quoted as saying.
He did not disclose what kind of show the airline plans for the inaugural Bangkok flight in February.
