Vietjet is poised to expand its operations to India from May this year, the airline has started negotiations for code share partnerships with Indian LCCs to feed its Mumbai and Delhi operations.
As per airline sources, the senior management of both Vietjet and Indigo had initial discussions on code share partnerships yesterday in Delhi.
Vietjet officially announced its opening of sales for three new direct routes connecting New Delhi and Mumbai, with Vietnam’s three largest hubs of Da Nang, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City starting mid-May.
Starting May 14, 2020, the New Delhi – Da Nang route will commence operations with a frequency of five flights per week. New routes connecting Mumbai with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will operate with three weekly flights and four weekly flights from May 15, 2020, and May 16, 2020, respectively.
Vietjet has started India operations in December last year with flights between New Delhi and Ho Chi Minh City (4 weekly), and New Delhi and Hanoi (3 weekly) flights.
“The load factors are healthy, around 83% for our Delhi operations,” said Jay Lingeswara, Director-Commercial, Vietjet.
He said that they’re hoping to further increase the load factors as they establish with more frequencies. ‘India is a key priority marketplace for us and that we see big potential for trade and tourism to grow between the two destinations,’ he said.
The official said that the airline believes in digital transformation and uses the newest Airbus 321 neo fleet which helps them operate with optimum fuel efficiencies.
They struggle to transfer these savings to passengers with affordable ticket pricing, he said. He said that Vietjet offers a wonderful connection to other destinations in SE Asia like Bali at a reasonable rate.
When asked about the China operations in the wake of the novel Coronavirus epidemic, Do Xuan Quang, vice chairman – Business Development, Vietjet said that as a responsible airline they need to be brought back 140,000 passengers to Vietnam between January 22nd and January 31, before stopping all operations to China from February 1. “We follow all IATA and government regulations with reference to passenger safety,” he said.
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Also Read, Vietjet opens three more direct routes linking Vietnam with India
