Vietnamese low-cost airline Vietjet Air celebrated its inaugural flight from Ho Minh City to Brisbane on Friday. The route makes the airline the first-ever to connect Vietnam and Queensland on commercial flights.
The service also created more than 300 new jobs in Brisbane. Vietjet expects tens of thousands of seats will be offered on the route within the first year of operation.
An important milestone
According to the airline, the first flight came 50 years after the Australian government established diplomatic relations with Vietnam. The carrier celebrated the milestone with a ceremony at Brisbane Airport, where Queensland’s Minister for Tourism, Hon Stirling Hinchliffe, Brisbane Airport Executive General Manager Aviation Ryan Both, and other tourism officials attended.
Photo: Brisbane Airport
Michael Hickey, Vietjet’s Chief Operating Officer, spoke about the new service on Friday.
“Vietjet’s direct flights between the beautiful city of Brisbane and Ho Chi Minh City will ease the travel between the two localities, countries and across the region. Our crew and leaders warmly welcome our passengers on a comfortable, joyful journey with Vietjet.”
Flight details
The flight will be operated by an Airbus A330-300 twice weekly. The Ho Chi Minh City-bound flight will depart Mondays and Fridays at 23:10 and arrive at 4:50 local time the next day. The Brisbane-bound flight is scheduled to leave Ho Chi Minh City the same morning at 10:05 and arrive in Brisbane at 21:10 local time.
Photo: Vietjet
The service coincides with the booming economy in Vietnam and the international holiday travel demand among citizens, according to local officials.
“Queensland’s great holiday lifestyle, reunions with Queensland-based family and convenient direct flights from Ho Chi Minh City are set to make Brisbane a sought-after destination for Vietnamese travellers,” Hinchliffe said.
Boosting the economy
Vietjet’s presence in Brisbane is estimated to create 370 jobs. Additionally, the airline will invest more than $100 million into the Australian economy over the next three years. The carrier said it expects more than 39,000 seats will be offered within the first year of the flights operating, boosting bilateral trade significantly. Cargo space will undoubtedly benefit from the service, with thousands of tonnes of freight capacity offered between the two weekly flights.
The route is also welcome news for the state’s international students cohort, according to Hinchliffe.
“Non-stop flights from Ho Chi Minh City are also predicted to help turbocharge Queensland’s growing international student cohort from Vietnam, which has increased by 24 percent this year,” the Tourism Minister noted.
Queensland has a $200 million international aviation investment fund backed jointly by the state’s government and international airports. Designed to speed up the recovery of Queensland’s visitor economy, Vietjet said the new route is a “win.”
To mark the service launching, the airline is offering tickets at a 50% discount for SkyBoss and SkyBoss Business fares until June 30th. Passengers can take advantage of the discount by booking flights for travel between August 15th and December 20th this year. The airline said the flights can be purchased on its website or mobile app with the promo code SKYBOSSALL50 or BUSINESS50.