VietJet Air

History

Foundation delays

Founded in 2007, the airline's founding team included Robert Hughes, an American who led the company through its initial year. The airline has its head office in the Vạn Phúc Diplomatic Corps in Ba Đình district, Hanoi It was the first privately owned airline to be established in Vietnam, and as of its launch in December 2011, it became the second private airline (after Air Mekong) to offer domestic service in Vietnam, as well as the fifth airline overall not counting Indochina Airlines, which ceased operations in November 2009 to offer civil domestic flights, after Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines, Air Mekong and the Vietnam Air Service Company (VASCO). In its initial plan, the Hanoi-based airline stated its intention to offer flights to Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, gradually expanding its network to include other Asian destinations, such as Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, and cities in southern China. The airline's president and CEO is Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao from December 2011.

Initially, VietJet had shown the intention to commence flights in late 2008 or early 2009. Airline officials gave different reasons for the delays, including increased fuel prices and other financial problems, as well as unresolved branding conflicts with the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV).

Although Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia announced in February 2010 that it planned to purchase a 30% stake in the airline through a joint venture agreement, the carrier rescinded its plans in October 2011, citing "a failure to obtain Vietnamese regulatory approvals".

By February 2011, VietJet was said to be "completing final stages" prior to launch before its operation license expired in June. The airline's maiden flight was eventually launched on 25 December 2011, flying from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi.

Operations

The Vietnam aviation authority fined VietJet Air US$960 in 2012 for organizing five women of candidates in a local beauty contest to perform a Hawaiian themed-dance without first gaining permission to celebrate its maiden flight to the tourist hub of Nha Trang.

On 9 February 2013, the airline launched its first international flight between Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok, becoming the first Vietnamese private airline to enter the international market.

In February 2014, at the opening of that year's Singapore Airshow, the airline firmed up orders with Airbus for 60 A320 aircraft at a list price of $6.4 billion. Previously, the airline had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus for 92 planes in the A320 family.

In June 2015, at the Paris Air Show, VietJet ordered six additional Airbus A321 single-aisle jets worth $682 million at list prices from Airbus to meet demand on some of its busiest routes; VietJet purchased a further 30 later that year at the Dubai Airshow, which included 21 A321neos along with 9 A321ceos. In May 2016 during a state visit of US President Barack Obama, an order for 200 Boeing 737 MAX aeroplanes was signed, with deliveries to start in 2019. In September 2016, CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao announced an order for 20 A321 single-aisle aircraft from Airbus. The signing took place during a state visit of French President Francois Hollande. During the 2018 Farnborough Airshow, Thai VietJet, VietJet's Thai subsidiary, ordered 100 Boeing 737 MAXs (80 MAX 10s and 20 MAX 8s) and 50 A321neos.

Public offering

VietJet completed its initial public offering (IPO) on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) on 28 February 2017 at an initial price of (US$ ) per share. The share price immediately rose by 20%, the maximum allowed for newly listed companies. The airline raised $167 million from the listing, making it the biggest IPO on the Vietnamese stock market to date and accounting for 1.5% of HOSE's capitalization at the time.

New routes

On 15 January 2025, VietJet announced the addition of four new routes to China. Commencing 30 March 2025, three new routes will be added to its service namely Ho Chi Minh-Beijing Daxing, Hanoi-Guangzhou and Ho Chi Minh-Guangzhou. Subsequently, another new route between Hanoi and Beijing Daxing will begin on 1 April 2025. A new inaugural route to Auckland will begin in September 2025.

Transition to in-house ground services

Vietjet took over ground handling services at Tan Son Nhat Airport from former partner Saigon Ground Services (SAGS) on April 20, 2025. The transition coincided with the peak travel season during the Reunification Day and Labour Day holiday in Vietnam, as well as the change of domestic terminals at Tan Son Nhat Airport, leading to mass delays of hundreds of flights, causing significant meltdown across the airline's network. This stirred up serious controversies over the airline, with thousands of passengers requesting an explanation and compensation for the inconvenience and loss they had experienced.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has instructed Vietjet to arrange full staff and equipment deployment and coordinate with other ground service providers to ensure appropriate operation.

2nd subsidiaries

On May 8, 2025, during the state visit by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam - Tô Lâm to Kazakhstan, Vietjet Air and Qazaq Air announced a strategic partnership to form the new subsidiaries, Vietjet Qazaqstan.

Corporate affairs

Business trends

The key trends for VietJet are (as of the financial year ending 31 December):

Brand identity and livery

To attract sponsorships and advertisement contracts, VietJet is known by its strategy to place promoted and sponsored content on its aircraft livery. File:VN-A666 Airbus A320 VietJet Air (7878753302).jpg|VietJet's "debut" livery in 2011. File:VJ3.JPG|VietJet's standardized livery template having been used since 2012, with space for promoted content. File:Airbus A320 VN-A680 at Tan Son Nhat Oct 2014.jpg|A VietJet "Disney Live!" livery, as seen in 2014. File:(VNM-Ho Chi Minh City) VietJet Air Airbus A330-343 VN-A810 @ VVTS 2025-10-08.jpg|A VietJet Petrolimex livery, with a 2021 revised livery template (exclusively for A330)

Destinations

Main article: List of VietJet Air destinations

As of November 2023, VietJet Air serves 13 countries and 99 routes.

Codeshare agreements

VietJet Air codeshares with the following airlines:

• Japan Airlines
• Lao Airlines

Interline agreements

• Qatar Airways
• Emperor Airways

Fleet

Current fleet

, VietJet Air operates the following aircraft:

Fleet development

On 26 February 2019, VietJet Air signed a memorandum of understanding with Boeing, an American aircraft manufacturer, to purchase 100 Boeing 737 MAX 200 aircraft. The signing ceremony took place at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, in the presence of Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong and U.S. President Donald Trump.

In December 2019, VietJet Air had one of its first Boeing 737 MAX 200 aircraft rolled out from the Boeing factory. However, the plane was not taken up afterwards and was delivered to Akasa Air.

On 23 July 2024, at the Farnborough International Airshow, VietJet Air and Airbus officially finalized a deal worth $7.4 billion for 20 Airbus A330-900 aircraft, following a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the purchase back in February 2024 at the Singapore Airshow. It is the airline's first-ever widebody order. They will replace the carrier's current wide-body fleet of 7 leased Airbus A330-300 aircraft, as well as providing for network expansion.

Between April and October 2025, Vietjet operated two Comac C909 wet-leased from Chengdu Airlines on a 6-month contract, marking the first time Chinese jets were used for domestic flights in Vietnam. The lease expired on October 18, 2025 and was not extended with a source citing high operational costs linked to regulatory constraints under Vietnam's aviation laws as one of the reasons.

On 17 June 2025, at the Paris Airshow, VietJet and Airbus announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for 100 Airbus A321neo jets with an additional 50 options available for purchase at a later date.

Accidents and incidents

Since commencing operations, VietJet Air has only suffered non-fatal incidents:

• 19 June 2014: VietJet Air Flight 8861 from Hanoi to Da Lat mistakenly landed at Cam Ranh International Airport. The reason was revealed to be pilot error. There were two flights, one from Hanoi to Nha Trang and the other from Hanoi to Da Lat, but one of the aircraft experienced technical difficulties and the aircraft was switched to another. Everyone was informed except for the captain of the flight. Everyone involved was suspended for further investigation.
• 16 October 2014: VietJet Air Flight 8856 departing from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang landed on the wrong runway. The ATC repeatedly told the pilot to land on runway 02L, the pilot also repeated the messages correctly but later landed on runway 20R. The captain and the first officer were suspended.
• 2 April 2015: a disabled passenger flying back to Hanoi from Da Nang was denied service by two VietJet employees, citing being "unable to move by herself" and "did not notify the ground crew at the airport in time". The carrier later had to publicly apologize to the passenger and fined each employee VND5 million.
• 30 September 2015: VietJet Air Flight 496, an Airbus A320-200 (registered VN-A650) suffered a bird strike incident while on approach to Noi Bai International Airport. The aircraft from Buon Ma Thuot Airport landed safely on runway 07R. The aircraft's nose radome sustained substantial damage.
• 28 January 2018: VietJet caused some controversy by putting models wearing bikinis on the flight bringing the Vietnam U-23 football team home. VietJet CEO Nguyễn Thị Phương Thảo later publicly apologized.
• 7 September 2018: VietJet Air Flight 1848 from Hanoi to Taichung flew through a hailstorm, causing damage to the cockpit window. The flight was forced to return to Hanoi.
• 29 November 2018: VietJet Air Flight 356, a newly delivered Airbus A321neo (registered VN-A653), suffered a hard landing at Buon Ma Thuot Airport after arriving from Tan Son Nhat International Airport. The aircraft lost both tires on the nose gear. Six passengers were injured. The aircraft was later grounded, pending investigation and repairs. The pilots were later fired and suspended by the Civil Aviation Authority. The aircraft was eventually repaired.
• 12 July 2019: VietJet Air Flight 615 from Nha Trang to Ho Chi Minh City entered a wrong taxiway upon landing, forcing an approaching aircraft to go-around. The incident is under investigation by the Aviation Authority.
• 14 June 2020: VietJet Air Flight 322 from Phu Quoc to Ho Chi Minh City skidded off the runway during landing at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, causing delays to other flights. Passengers on this flight were later evacuated. No one was injured. The airline said heavy rain due to Tropical Storm Nuri was the cause of this incident.

Notes

References

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