Vietnamese airlines increase int’l flights, giving summer travelers more flexible options

Northeast Asia continues to be one of the strongest-performing regions, with routes to South Korea, Japan and Taiwan seeing notable capacity increases driven by tourism, family visits, business travel and trade, said some representatives from local airlines.

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has announced additional flights on several international routes departing from Hanoi and Da Nang City, central Vietnam.

Service between Hanoi and Taipei will increase from seven to 11 flights per week.

The carrier will also boost its Hanoi - Osaka (Japan) route from seven to 11 weekly flights between October 26 and November 30, before expanding to 14 weekly flights from December 1.

From Da Nang, the airline will raise the frequency of flights to Seoul to 14 per week beginning July 1.

Services from Da Nang to Tokyo and Osaka will also increase to 11 and five weekly flights, respectively.

Tour operators said that the denser flight schedules pave a smoother path for them to organize tours to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Operators can split travelers into smaller groups, launch more short-break and weekend packages, and add additional weekly departures.

Independent travelers also benefit from greater scheduling flexibility, reducing the need to plan entire trips around limited flight availability.

The wider choice of departure times allows passengers to better coordinate travel with work commitments, school schedules or short holiday breaks.

Sun PhuQuoc Airways is also expanding its South Korea network.

Beginning August 25, the airline will launch two new daily direct routes linking Hanoi and Seoul, and Ho Chi Minh City and Seoul, with one round-trip flight operating each day on both services.

Low-cost airline Vietjet will increase flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur to seven per week.

The carrier is also introducing several new international routes, including Ho Chi Minh City-Colombo from August 18, Hanoi-Almaty and Hanoi-Prague from October 10, and Nha Trang-Singapore from December.

In the domestic market, Vietjet is increasing its summer flight schedule by 30 percent, focusing on routes from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to popular tourist destinations including Nha Trang, Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Quang Binh, Hue and Gia Lai Province’s Quy Nhon.

The airline is also adding capacity on services to Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa, Vinh, Chu Lai, Can Tho, Gia Lai and Dak Lak.

Tourism experts noted that higher flight capacity does not necessarily translate into immediate reductions in airfares or package tour prices, as overall travel costs remain influenced by hotel rates, visa fees, ground services and currency exchange fluctuations.

However, the expanded seat supply is expected to ease pressure on ticket availability during the peak travel season, giving travel companies greater flexibility to develop new products while offering passengers a broader range of itinerary choices.