Another week closer to its Australian launch, Vietjet has sweetened its offer with cheap flights to Hong Kong via Ho Chi Minh City.
For the last twelve months Australians have been starved of low airfares, and now just like the proverbial bus, they are coming thick and fast. The latest arrived today when Vietjet announced flights from Australia to Hong Kong through Ho Chi Minh City for just AU$200 ($134), excluding taxes and fees.
It's customary for a new airline to make a noise when it enters a new market, and Vietnam's low-cost carrier Vietjet certainly has a lot to shout about. It opened proceedings by offering thousands of tickets for free flights between Vietnam and Australia (excluding fees and taxes). It followed that up last week with free domestic flights within Vietnam for Aussie travelers.
Today it announced another very attractive offer to entice Australians onto their Melbourne or Sydney flights to Ho Chi Minh City. From now until March 16th, seats are available for flights from Melbourne or Sydney to Hong Kong via Ho Chi Minh City for AU$200 ($134) plus the fees and taxes. This offer applies for travel from March 20th to May 20th, 2023, and some exclusions apply.
These offers are coming before Vetjet has started flying between Vietnam and Australia, with Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) to Melbourne Airport (MEL) commencing on April 8th and to Sydney Airport (SYD) on April 12th. Initially, the service will operate three times a week from both cities, using an Airbus A330-300.
Vietjet received its fifth Airbus A330 on February 24th, which AirAsia X had previously operated from its initial delivery in 2016. As part of Vietjet's fleet, the A330, MSN 1670, carries registration VN-A815 and is configured in a two-class layout of 377 seats, with 12 in business and 365 in the economy cabin.
Fleet data from ch-aviation.com lists 77 aircraft in Vietjet's fleet, with 265 on order. Currently, the LCC has an all-Airbus fleet of 18 A320-200s, 36 A321-200s, 18 A321neos and five A330-300s. In a clear sign of its expansionary plans, the airline has 150 Boeing 737 MAX 8s and 114 Airbus A321neos on order, including the A321XLR. It also has another A330-300 to be delivered.
Starting on March 26th, Vietjet is increasing the frequency of its Ho Chi Minh City to Hong Kong International (HKG) route to daily. Flights will depart from SGN at 15:10 and arrive in Hong Kong at 18:50, while the return flight departs HKG at 19:50 to land back in Ho Chi Minh City at 21:30. The flight is operated by an Airbus A321 and takes around 2:40 hours.
For Aussie travelers who want to fly to Hong Kong from another location, Vietjet is offering flights from the beachfront destinations of Da Nang or Phu Quoc. From April 27th, it will operate the Phu Quoc – Hong Kong route three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The Da Nang to Hong Kong route will run four times weekly from April 28th, with departures every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 14:35 to arrive in HKG at 17:20. The return flight leaves at 18:20 and is back in Da Nang at 19:10.
Members of the airline's loyalty program, Vietjet SkyJoy, will earn extra points on international and domestic flights and gifts from more than 250 food, shopping and tourism brands in Vietnam.
Will these special offers tempt you? Let us know in the comments.
Journalist – A professional aviation journalist writing across the industry spectrum. Michael uses his MBA and corporate business experience to go behind the obvious in search of the real story. A strong network of senior aviation contacts mixed with a boyhood passion for airplanes helps him share engaging content with fellow devotees. Based in Melbourne, Australia.