Two-way seat capacity between India and Vietnam is set to reach record levels in December, as demand for air travel between the two nations continues to grow.
The market has expanded rapidly since IndiGo and VietJet launched nonstop services in late 2019, becoming the first regular scheduled flights between the countries. Prior to that, the only flights had been limited, low-frequency seasonal charter services provided by Jetstar Pacific.
Capacity for December 2024 is projected to total about 140,000 two-way seats, OAG Schedules Analyser data shows. This is a 12% increase from the same month last year and a 434% surge compared to December 2019, fueled by outbound leisure demand from India.
According to the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, Vietnam welcomed 392,000 Indian visitors in 2023, marking a 231% increase compared to 2019. In the first half of 2024, the number of Indian tourists continued to rise sharply, reaching more than 231,000—a 164% increase from the same period last year.
The growth in capacity and visitor numbers comes amid reports that frequencies between India and Vietnam are set to rise further following a revised air services agreement, understood to have been signed at an ICAO event in Malaysia in October. The updated agreement increases the number of weekly flights permitted by Vietnamese carriers from 28 to 42.
In recent weeks, VietJet has expanded its roundtrip flights between the two countries from 28 to 34 per week, according to OAG data. The LCC now operates eight routes: daily services from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Ahmedabad; four weekly flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Cochin, Mumbai and New Delhi; three weekly flights from Hanoi to New Delhi and Mumbai; and a twice-weekly service from Da Nang to Ahmedabad. The schedule includes Airbus A330 flights on its two routes to New Delhi, as well as between Ho Chi Minh City and Mumbai.
Three other airlines also operate in the India-Vietnam market. Vietnam Airlines flies four times per week from Hanoi to both Mumbai and New Delhi, and three times per week from Ho Chi Minh City to the same destinations. IndiGo offers daily flights from Kolkata to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, while Air India has a daily New Delhi-Ho Chi Minh City service, which launched in June.
Analysis of Sabre Market Intelligence figures show that O&D traffic between India and Vietnam jumped to 867,000 two-way passengers in 2023, up from 331,000 in 2022 and 237,000 in 2019. Hanoi-New Delhi was the largest city pair last year, accounting for 9.7% of the traffic. This was closely followed by Ho Chi Minh City-Kolkata on 9.3% and Hanoi-Kolkata on 9%. In the first six months of 2024, O&D traffic rose to some 511,000 two-way passengers, marking a year-on-year rise of 36%.
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