TravTalk India Online Magazine
Thai VietJet Air, part of the VietJet Group, has chosen Mumbai as its first destination to set its footprint into India. But this is only the beginning, assures Woranate Laprabang, CEO, Thai VietJet Air, with ambitious plans for this interesting market and a very long wish list of cities it wants to touchdown upon.
Hazel Jain
Expanding its presence in India, Thai VietJet Air recently started its inaugural daily Mumbai-Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) service from 23 December 2024. Woranate Laprabang, CEO, Thai VietJet Air, part of Vietjet Group, was in Mumbai to announce their plans and underline long-term strategy. He said, “India is a very important market for us. We see more and more Indian travellers coming to Thailand after our visa-free policy. It took us quite a while before we got the permission, but here we are. We chose Mumbai as our first destination to set the footprint of VietJet Thailand into India because this is a very interesting market. We have very big ambitions for this market, specially because Indian travellers are already familiar with VietJet.”
He shared that the airline is expecting to add about 10 more destinations in the next three years and around 100 weekly frequencies. “We have other cities in consideration but it’s a difficult question because every city is interesting. So, to decide the next destination to fly to is a tough decision. I can tell you our wish list – all the tier I cities like Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata. Of course, that is in the first part of the wish list. But we also want to look at tier II destinations like Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, and Odisha. We hope we can cover most of them within the next three to four years,” Laprabang added.
To fuel this expansion, the airline will add to its fleet. “We have around 18 aircraft at the moment, but with a big lot of aircraft confirmation, we expect to grow our fleet from 18 aircraft today to 50 aircraft within the next three to four years. This will help us grow our route between Thailand and India,” he explained.
Thai VietJet Air offers connections beyond Bangkok to Phuket, Krabi, Chiang Mai, and Chiang Rai in the southern and northern part of Thailand. It also offers seamless connections to many destinations in ASEAN, including Phnom Penh, Da Nang, and Phu Quoc, and some destinations in North Asia like Taipei. “I would like to add that the connection between Thailand and India is not only carrying Indians to Thailand. We are looking to tap traffic the other way around, brining Thai people to enjoy the experience of the great country of India,” he added.
Vietjet welcomed its 111th aircraft, an advanced Airbus A321neo ACF, to its modern fleet at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. With its innovative technology, the A321neo ACF reduces fuel consumption and emissions by up to 20 per cent while reducing noise levels by 50 per cent.
