Vietjet celebrates inaugural flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Brisbane in spectacular style

Yesterday Vietjet celebrated its first flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Brisbane, making it the first-ever carrier to fly directly between Vietnam and Queensland. This milestone marks the beginning of two weekly return flights between the two cities.

The arrival of Vietjet in Brisbane will create an estimated 370 local jobs, with the airline investing more than $100 million into the Australian economy over the next three years. In its first year of operation, the airline expects to offer over 39,000 seats between Ho Chi Minh City and Brisbane, providing a significant boost to bilateral trade.

The new service completes Vietjet’s network on the east coast of Australia with eight weekly return flights now servicing Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, with flight frequency between Sydney and Melbourne to increase from September.

Vietjet Chief Operating Officer Michael Hickey said at the official ceremony: “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.”

Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe welcomed the historic new service: “Vietjet’s inaugural Brisbane services coincide with Vietnam’s booming economy and surging demand among its citizens for world-class international holiday experiences. 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.

We’re backing Vietjet with the State’s $200 million international aviation war chest for the carrier’s potential to generate almost $30 million a year for Queensland’s visitor economy and up to 370 good Queensland jobs. 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 per cent this year.”

In great news for Queensland exporters, the new service is also expected to unlock thousands of tonnes of freight capacity between Brisbane and Vietnam.

Brisbane Airport Corporation Chief Executive Officer Gert-Jan de Graaff hailed the arrival of Vietjet as an exciting new addition to the BNE family.

“Vietnam has been one of the world’s best success stories over the past two decades and now has a generation of people eager to explore the world. With direct flights to Brisbane Airport, their ticket to tour Queensland is just a single 8-hour flight away.”

The service is another win for Queensland’s $200 million Attracting Aviation Investment Fund

jointly funded by the Queensland Government and the state’s international airports, and is designed to fast-track the recovery of Queensland’s visitor economy.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised the launch of the new Vietjet service to “beautiful Brisbane” during a Bilateral Meeting in Hanoi earlier this month.

“That will help the people-to-people relations as well between us, because this is relationship built through infrastructure and economic activity. But what it comes down to is a relationship between our people that we need to grow in the future.”

To celebrate its launch, Vietjet is offering a fare discount of 50% (*) for its SkyBoss and SkyBoss Business fares until 30 June 2023. The travel period for this offer is 15 August to 20 December 2023. To be eligible, passengers can use promo codes SKYBOSSALL50 (SkyBoss) or BUSINESS50 (SkyBoss Business) when purchasing tickets at www.vietjetair.com or the airline’s mobile app. This runs in conjunction with Vietjet’s ongoing promotional offer every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with low fares starting from AUD200.

Operating on A330s with two return flights per week, Vietjet’s flights from Brisbane to Ho Chi Minh City will take place every Monday and Friday, departing at 23:10 and landing the next day at 04:50 (local time). Return flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Brisbane will depart every Monday and Friday, taking off at 10:05 and landing in Brisbane at 21:10 (local time)

Vietjet has been awarded the highest ranking for safety with 7 stars by the world’s only safety and product rating website airlineratings.com. The airline has also been named as Best Low-Cost Carrier by renowned organisations such as Skytrax, CAPA, Airline Ratings, and many others.

*Source: Joshua Wise, Account Executive, Primary Communication,  primarycommsgroup.com.au