Vietnam Airlines expands its flight network, increasing opportunities to welcome international passengers

Vietnam Airlines said that in the first 9 months of this year, it carried out more than 122,000 flights, transporting more than 20 million passengers, an increase of 4.3% over the same period last year. Along with exploitation activities, the airline continues to expand its international flight network, increase frequency on key routes and coordinate with localities and travel businesses in promoting destinations.

Open new routes, increase operating frequency

Combining flight network development with tourism promotion and local cooperation is one of the ways the national airline expands its market. This approach aims to solve two problems simultaneously, including bringing tourists to more convenient destinations and creating more reasons for them to choose and experience many products during the same trip.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the comprehensive cooperation program between Vietnam Airlines and the city for the period 2023-2027 focuses on tourism promotion, destination promotion, product development and business connection. This year, the airline continues to accompany the city at the Ho Chi Minh City International Tourism Fair (ITE HCMC), connecting travel businesses, international partners and introducing aviation products.

In May, the airline announced the Ho Chi Minh City – Phuket route. Developing connections between two destinations creates more opportunities to build two-way tourism products, reach guests with vacation needs and expand itinerary options in the region.

In Da Nang, the cooperation agreement between the city and Vietnam Airlines for the period 2026-2030 focuses on research to open flight routes, improve operational efficiency and develop products associated with the flight network. The two sides prioritize segments such as resort tourism, golf, culture, cuisine and MICE.

In addition, the airline increased the frequency of the Da Nang – Narita (Japan) route from 7 to 11 flights per week, from July 1. Thereby, passengers have more schedule options, while creating conditions for travel businesses to organize tours more flexibly.

For the international tourist market, higher flight frequency can help businesses proactively arrange departure dates, visit and stay times, instead of having to rely on limited flight schedules. This is also the basis for developing long-term vacation programs, tours combining many experiences or itineraries for groups.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung, Chairman of Da Nang City People’s Committee, assessed aviation as an important driving force for tourism, investment and trade; Expanding cooperation helps the city improve connectivity and destination competitiveness.

On the business side, Mr. Dang Anh Tuan, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Airlines, said the airline wants to promote the advantages of the domestic and international flight network to connect Da Nang with many markets, attract tourists and investors, and promote the city’s image internationally.

In 9 months, accommodation facilities in Da Nang served an estimated 15.86 million visitors, an increase of 26.4% over the same period last year. Of which, international visitors reached about 7.73 million, an increase of 28.7%. Accommodation and food service revenue is estimated at 52,945 billion VND, an increase of 26.2%; Travel service revenue reached about VND 4,028 billion, an increase of 16.5%.

According to Mr. Tuan, Da Nang can combine the advantages of sea tourism with cultural products, cuisine and neighboring destinations. When businesses build multi-day tours associated with appropriate flight schedules, tourists have more options besides short-term vacations. Accommodations, restaurants and experience organizers also have the opportunity to serve guests for longer periods of time

In parallel with developing the flight network, Vietnam Airlines also organizes about 50 survey delegations for travel partners and 18 delegations for international press in 2026. These activities create conditions for travel and media partners to survey products, learn about destinations and connect with local businesses.

Discounts on domestic flights

Besides expanding connectivity, incentive programs help reduce travel costs and create more motivation for customers to choose their journey. In October, Vietnam Airlines launched the Quick Sale App program, reducing ticket prices by up to 10% when purchased through the app every Tuesday. The airline also has a maximum discount program of 300,000 VND when paying for tickets via VNPAY-QR, according to conditions applicable from September 30 to December 31.

These incentives create more choices for customers. However, according to airline representatives, to boost local revenue, ticket prices need to be combined with travel products and accommodation services. This coordination method helps tourists conveniently estimate the cost of the entire trip, while also creating opportunities for businesses to cross-sell services. For localities, a tour combining many experiences can encourage tourists to extend their stay, distribute visitors to different attractions and increase demand for dining, shopping and transportation.

“Opening new routes or increasing frequencies only creates the initial conditions. For tourist flow to become economic value, localities need attractive products, stable service quality and connectivity between aviation, travel, accommodation, transportation and attractions,” Mr. Dang Anh Tuan added.

For Vietnam Airlines, coordination with provinces, cities and tourism partners shows that the airline’s role lies not only in transporting passengers, but also in the ability to connect markets, promote destinations and support product development.

The airline representative said that in the context of Vietnam aiming for double-digit economic growth, this cooperation model contributes to concretizing the responsibilities of state-owned enterprises through promoting resources, expanding business opportunities and creating conditions for benefits from tourism to spread to service industries.

“A flight can take passengers to the starting point, but the coordination between airlines, localities and businesses determines the ability to expand the journey, lengthen the stay and increase spending. When connecting transportation with appropriate products, tourism has more opportunities to contribute to economic growth in a real and sustainable way,” the representative emphasized.