Vietnam’s air carriers expand international networks, grow fleets

A significant milestone was reached on Tuesday when national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines operated the country’s first-ever direct flight between Hanoi and Amsterdam.

Flight VN83 departed Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi at 3:50 am carrying nearly 300 passengers to the Dutch capital.

The route is operated using an Airbus A350 aircraft, with a flight time of some 12 hours.

Vietnam Airlines operates the Hanoi-Amsterdam air service on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

The new route eliminates the need for passengers to transit through other hubs while providing convenient onward connections from Amsterdam to destinations across Europe.

Nguyen Quang Trung, deputy CEO of Vietnam Airlines, said that the route was part of the carrier’s strategy to selectively expand its international network and strengthen links between Vietnam and major global hubs of commerce, tourism, and trade.

With the addition of the air route to Amsterdam, Vietnam Airlines now operates 12 direct routes between Vietnam and Europe, serving eight destinations, including Paris, London, Frankfurt, Munich, Milan, Copenhagen, Moscow, and Amsterdam.

The national carrier is planning to increase the flight frequency on its Hanoi-Moscow route from three to four round-trip flights per week, starting from July 1.

Low-cost carrier Vietjet is also strengthening its European presence.

The airline is scheduled to launch a Hanoi-Prague (Czechia) service on October 10 using Airbus A330 aircraft.

The route will operate twice weekly and include a stopover in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Travel firms view the simultaneous expansion by Vietnamese airlines into Europe as a positive development that will provide travelers with more options while supporting tourism, business travel, family visits, and cargo transportation.

Another carrier Vietravel Airlines, on the domestic front, opened its Hanoi-Buon Ma Thuot route on Monday and resumed operations on the Hanoi-Cam Ranh route for the peak summer season.

The Hanoi-Buon Ma Thuot service operates once daily, while the Hanoi-Cam Ranh route offers two flights per day.

The carrier has also increased frequencies on the Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City route to five daily flights and added services on routes connecting Da Nang and Cam Ranh.

Internationally, Vietravel Airlines has started ticket sales for a new Ho Chi Minh City-Shenzhen route, scheduled to commence operations on August 15.

The airline is also organizing charter flights between Hanoi and Lanzhou, China, beginning in late June.

The carrier plans to add seven aircraft during the second half of the year, and aims to expand its fleet to up to 50 aircraft by 2030.

Meanwhile, Sun PhuQuoc Airways is preparing to launch three international routes connecting Vietnam with Russia, China, and Malaysia.

The airline had previously established agent networks in Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and India.

According to aviation experts, the wave of new routes and increased flight frequencies indicates that Vietnam’s aviation market is transitioning from a recovery phase to a period of network expansion and long-term growth.