Vietjet CEO Dinh Viet Phuong and Qazaq Air CEO Adilbek Umraliyev exchange the cooperation agreement, witnessed by Vietnam General Secretary To Lam, Kazakhstan Deputy Prime Minister Yermek Kosherbayev, and Vietnam Deputy Prime Minister-Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son.
Vietnamese LCC Vietjet and Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air are forming a new joint venture that will operate a fleet of at least 20 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
The new airline, to be known as Vietjet Qazaqstan, will focus on enhancing air connectivity between Kazakhstan, Vietnam and the broader Asian region.
Plans for the venture follow Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna completing a deal to transfer a stake in Qazaq Air to a consortium that includes Aviation Holdings Group, part of Vietjet’s backer Sovico Group. Details of the proposed transaction emerged almost a year ago.
“Expanding the regional route network will strengthen transport connections and create new points of economic growth,” Samruk-Kazyna CEO Nurlan Zhakupov says.
The announcement was made at a Kazakhstan–Vietnam Business Roundtable during a state visit by Vietnamese General Secretary To Lam. Vietnam’s Finance Ministry issued a Foreign Investment Registration Certificate to Aviation Holdings Group, authorizing the acquisition.
“This move marks a key milestone in Vietjet’s international expansion strategy and aims to deepen bilateral ties between Vietnam and Kazakhstan across aviation, economic and cultural domains, while opening a new chapter for the aviation industry in Central Asia,” Vietjet said in a statement.
“The airline will meet the growing travel demand in Kazakhstan while boosting cross-border tourism, trade and logistics throughout Asia. It also aims to support local socio-economic growth through the creation of thousands of high-quality jobs.”
Vietjet Qazaqstan and Boeing have also signed a Customer Services General Terms Agreement to support the future fleet, covering software solutions, spare parts supply, technical assistance, and training for pilots and engineers.
Qazaq Air primarily operates domestic routes within Kazakhstan from its base at Astana’s Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport, alongside international services to Omsk and Novosibirsk in Russia and Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The carrier’s fleet consists of five DHC Dash 8-400 turboprop aircraft.
According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, Vietjet does not currently operate scheduled flights to Kazakhstan, but has previously served Almaty and Astana. Speaking to Routes at Routes Asia 2025 in March, Vice President for Commercial Jay L. Lingeswara said Vietjet is evaluating multiple European cities—including destinations in the Czech Republic, France, Germany and the UK—and is exploring serving the region with one-stop options. Potential transit points could include cities in Kazakhstan.
The announcement with Qazaq Air comes as Vietjet reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2025, with consolidated pre-tax profit rising 24% year-over-year to 836 billion Vietnamese dong ($32 million). Revenue climbed 25% to nearly 17.95 trillion dong.
In the first three months of the year, Vietjet carried 6.87 million passengers on 38,700 flights, a 9% and 12% increase from a year earlier, respectively. The airline operated 137 routes, including 97 international services, and expanded its fleet to 106 aircraft.
Ancillary revenue accounted for more than 35% of total revenue in the quarter. Vietjet also announced plans to launch new routes linking Vietnam with China, India, Singapore and New Zealand later this year.
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