Vietjet Makes Brisbane Its Third Australian City

Vietjet Air is planning to launch flights to a third city in Australia after it launches its inaugural route to the country in April.

The Vietnamese LCC will operate twice weekly services between Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) and Brisbane Airport (BNE) from June 16. Airbus A330-300 aircraft will be deployed on the route, equipped with 12 business class seats and 365 in economy.

The new link will become the first to connect Vietnam and the Australian state of Queensland and comes 50 years after the two countries established diplomatic relations.

Brisbane will be Vietjet’s third destination in Australia, joining Melbourne (MEL) and Sydney (SYD). Flights from SGN to MEL will launch on April 8, followed by SGN-SYD four days later.

“I believe that our services will be a catalyst for the further growth of tourism and trade between the two nations,” Vietjet vice-president Nguyen Thanh Son says.

He adds that passengers flying from Australia will be able to connect through Ho Chi Minh City to domestic and international destinations served by the airline. Vietjet operates around 450 flights per day across 160 routes. 

Brisbane Airport believes the new route will inject $25.6 million into Queensland’s visitor economy and support 240 jobs in the first year of operation, bringing more than 30,000 visitors to the region. Vietjet will receive support for the service over the next three years, by which time it is hoped frequencies will have doubled to 4X-weekly.

“To have Vietnam and the Sunshine State connected for the first time by non-stop flights will deliver benefits in two countries,” Brisbane Airport Corporation CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff says. “This historic new service from Vietjet will enable family and friends in Vietnam easy connection to Queensland and will cut hours off a journey.” 

According to data provided by Sabre Market Intelligence, Vietnam-Brisbane O&D traffic totaled 67,600 two-way passengers in 2019, about 66% of which was between Ho Chi Minh City and Brisbane. Around 70% of passengers flying between Vietnam and Brisbane connected via Singapore.