It was the little low-cost car that everyone in Vietnam watched with varying degrees of attention. But in just a few years, Vietjet has become the country's leading air carrier in terms of passenger numbers.
In 2024, the company carried more than 25.9 million passengers on its 145 routes (44 domestic and 101 international) with a fleet of 115 devicesall from the aircraft manufacturer Airbus.
Vietjet has gradually extended its international network. Initially concentrating on ASEAN (South-East Asia), notably with a subsidiary in Thailand, the company has since launched flights to Australia, China, Korea, India, Japan and Kazakhstan, and is preparing to land in New Zealand.
Europe, the new priority target
Vietjet now targeting Europe. This ambition was confirmed on 26 May with the signing of an order with Airbus for 20 wide-body A330-900 aircraft. These aircraft are in addition to a previous order for 20 Airbus A330s. Vietjet currently operates A330-300s to Australia and India.
The aircraft will be able to fly non-stop over a distance of more than 13,000 km. This will more than cover the distance between Vietnam and Europe. Paris-Hanoi and Paris Ho-Chi-Minh City represent distances of 9,200 km and 10,150 km respectively.
At the Routes Asia 2025 conference, the airline's Vice President Commercial, Jay L. Lingeswara, indicated that Europe would be a priority. With the possibility of launching flights before the end of the year. Among the countries Vietjet would like to serve are Germany, France, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom. These long-haul routes offer a business class with 12 couchette seats.. Business class includes an additional baggage allowance, priority check-in and access to lounges in Vietnam.
The airline is also looking at other markets with a potential stopover - such as Kazakhstan, which is offering 5th freedom traffic rights*. This option would make it possible to rapidly launch routes to Europe. with the seven Airbus A330-300s already in the fleet.
* Possibility of carrying passengers on an intermediate stopover (point B) between points A and C. Example: Paris-Astana-Hanoi.
