After a hiatus of nearly three years, Vietnamese low-cost carrier VietJet resumed operating direct services between Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Kong on February 10th, further strengthening the airline's reconnection to the Asia-Pacific region as more travel restrictions are lifted.
VietJet is back in Hong Kong
The budget carrier's return to Hong Kong comes almost half a year after both Vietnam and Hong Kong removed their individual travel restrictions for international passengers. With Hong Kong being a vital part of VietJet's Asia-Pacific network, the return has been long-awaited by several passengers as it will make air transport between the two countries more accessible and affordable.
Operating on a twice-weekly schedule every Monday and Friday, VietJet flight VJ 876 takes off from Ho Chi Minh City International Airport at approximately 15:10 before arriving at Hong Kong International Airport at around 18:50. The two-hour or so flight journey will be utilizing the budget carrier's Airbus A321neo fleet, configured for at least 230 passengers.
And to celebrate the reinstated non-stop flight service last Friday, VietJet presented various flower arrangements and souvenirs to the first passengers from the welcoming return flight VJ 877, which will be scheduled to depart from Hong Kong at approximately 19:50. The aircraft is expected to touch down back in Ho Chi Minh City at around 21:30.
Get all the latest aviation news right here on Simple Flying!
VietJet is focused on expanding
While the resumed flight service to Hong Kong allows VietJet to fly at least 460 weekly passengers to the country, the low-cost carrier has additional network expansion plans for the upcoming months, especially within the Asia-Pacific region and one of its hard-to-ignore significant markets, China.
For this year, VietJet plans to continue setting higher goals for revenue growth based on China's reopening. The budget carrier will be fully resuming its Chinese flight network by June and seeks to offer at least 100 flights between Vietnam and China by the end of this year.
Such a goal, if fulfilled, will see VietJet's Chinese flight network be expanded by at least 20% to 30% compared to pre-pandemic capacities. Vice President of the airline, Nguyễn Thanh Sơn, emphasized:
"Before the pandemic, we held nearly 50% of the total air traffic between Vietnam and China. With China being open to international travel again this year, VietJet plans to reclaim its throne as the largest airline operating within the two countries and become bigger than ever."
Find more news about Asian aviation here!
Bottom line
Besides a planned expansion for China, VietJet also has plans for enhanced capacities to other international markets within the region of more significant potential. These countries include India, South Korea, Japan, and Australia. But since the global aviation industry has been recovering, the low-cost carrier acknowledges that a wave of international airlines is expected to touch down in Vietnam this year, making its planned expansion significantly more challenging.
Nonetheless, VietJet remains focused and eager to prove its worth to passengers. Other than an ongoing fleet expansion to meet its increasing flight schedules, the budget carrier has also recently launched the VietJet SkyJoy loyalty program with conveniences and privileges to accumulate and redeem loyalty points in the hopes of increasing its brand value and widening its passenger pool.
Source: AirlineRatings