Vietjet launches first direct Vietnam-Queensland flights

Budget airline Vietjet Air will launch the first ever direct flights connecting Vietnam to the Australian state of Queensland this June following two services between Ho Chi Minh City and Melbourne/Sydney that are set to take off in a month.

The airline will operate services between HCMC and Brisbane Airport from June 16 every Monday and Friday.

The flights from HCMC will take off at 10:05 a.m. (local time) and land in Brisbane at 9:10 p.m. (local time). The return flights will depart at 11:10 p.m. (local time) and arrive at 4:50 a.m. the following day (local time).

In celebration of the new route, from now to March 22, 2023, all Vietjet’s Eco tickets between Vietnam and Australia (Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney) are on sale from zero USD (excluding taxes, fees) at www.vietjetair.com and Vietjet Air mobile app.

In addition, Vietjet passengers from across Vietnam flying to and from Australia can enjoy free transfer domestic flights to and from HCMC (terms and conditions applied).

"The addition of Brisbane to our list of destinations would be another development to broadly connect Australia and Vietnam. Especially, with our recent introduced connecting services through Ho Chi Minh City and soon other Vietnamese hubs, Vietjet can bring more passengers from Asia and European countries to Australia.

"And vice versa, Australians will now find it super easy and economical to fly to Asian nations across its vast network which serves Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, mainland China, Thailand, India, Kazakhstan, and other Vietnamese coastal cities, such as Danang, Nha Trang and Phu Quoc," Vietjet’s vice president Nguyen Thanh Son said.

"I believe that our services will be a catalyst for the further growth of tourism and trade between the two nations, and among the regions in the coming years," he added.

Brisbane Airport Corporation CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff said: “Vietnam is a rapidly growing market for Queensland, and we are delighted to have Vietjet join the BNE family. To have Vietnam and the Sunshine State connected for the first time by non-stop flights will deliver benefits in two countries.”

With a flight network covering around 450 flights daily on 160 routes throughout Vietnam and connecting Vietnam with a variety of Asia Pacific destinations, Vietjet will deploy the Airbus A330-300 on new routes to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane with a configuration of 12 SkyBoss Business seats, and 365 seats in SkyBoss, Deluxe and Eco classes.

The airline has recently launched ticket sales for two direct routes from HCMC to Melbourne and Sydney with thrice weekly flights. The flights connecting HCMC to Melbourne, Tullamarine airport, will commence operation on April 8, and the flights linking HCMC with Sydney will be in service from April 12.

As Australia’s most connected domestic hub, passengers arriving in Brisbane from Vietnam will be able to connect to 53 destinations across the country, with 30 of them in Queensland. The flights will bring more than 30,000 visitors in Brisbane during the first year of operation.

It’s estimated Vietjet’s direct flights to Brisbane will generate $25.6 million for Queensland’s visitor economy and support 240 Queensland jobs in the first year.