VietJet is expanding its services to India, adding three additional services from May 2020. In addition to existing flights between both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Delhi, these new services will link both cities to Mumbai and Da Nang to Delhi.

VietJet only started flying to India in December. The services to Delhi operate four times a week from Ho Chi Minh City and thrice-weekly from Hanoi.

New services in response to rising demand

The latest additions to VietJet's Indian services are in response to the rising demand for travel between the two countries. In a statement, VietJet's Vice President Nguyen Thanh Son said;

"We are excited to continue connecting Vietnam destinations to the market of over 1.2 billion population in India after receiving positive feedback regarding our previous two direct flights that linked both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi with New Delhi.

“With just over five hours of flight time per leg, and a convenient flight schedule throughout the week, Vietjet's newest routes between Vietnam and India will create many more trade and tourism opportunities between the two countries, helping to boost the economies of both.

"The expansion of Vietjet's flight network into India also reaffirms the airline's ongoing commitment to continuously help flyers save on cost and time."

Flight Global is reporting that VietJet will be the sole operator on these new routes.

VietJet to have a monopoly on these new routes

The new flights between Da Nang and Delhi will operate on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. There will be an early evening departure from Da Nang for a mid-evening arrival in Delhi. The return flight will depart Delhi later the same evening for an early morning arrival back into Da Nang the following day.

The flights between Hanoi and Mumbai will depart mid-evening on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, arriving into Mumbai later that evening. The return flight will depart Mumbai just after midnight, very early on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday mornings to land back in Hanoi in time for breakfast.

The flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Mumbai operate at similar times, evening flights to Mumbai and post-midnight departures back to Ho Chi Minh City. The flights to Mumbai will operate on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. The return flight back to Ho Chi Minh City will operate on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Steady but safe expansion for a "new-age" airline

VietJet operates a fleet of 75 aircraft, comprising 22 A320s and 53 A321s. It prefers to call itself a new-age airline rather than a low-cost airline. It is a nice euphemism but it doesn't change the fact that the five hour plus flights will not be a deluxe experience. Still, with starter fares of about USD$30.00, you cannot complain about that.

Since first taking off in 2011, the privately owned and publicly listed airline has steadily expanded. It now flies to 18 domestic and 26 international destinations. Those international destinations are all in the Asia region. India, in South Asia, is as far afield as VietJet flies.

It's a smart strategy - keeping their range of aircraft tight and where they fly to constrained. Over-reach has crippled many a fledgling airline.

The Da Nang – New Delhi and Hanoi – Mumbai routes will start on 14 May 2020 and the Ho Chi Minh City - Mumbai route will start on 15 May 2020.