Promoting connectivity, Vietjet opens new direct route to Kochi

Vietjet has officially introduced a direct route between Ho Chi Minh City and Kochi which will start flying on August 12.

With the commencement of the service next month, Vietjet will be the airline operating weekly Vietnam-India flights with a total of 32.

Vietnamese Ambassador to India Nguyen Thanh Hai told reporters, “Opening of the route connecting Kochi and Ho Chi Minh City is a breakthrough, creating a new impetus for economic trade, tourism, cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between Vietnam and South India. With the favorable geographical location of Ho Chi Mich City in particular, and Vietnam in general, visitors will easily explore destinations across Vietnam as well as from Vietnam to other countries and regions around the world”.

To a question, he said, “We would like to work closely with Kerala Tourism in promoting all exotic destinations thereby promoting both inbound and outbound tourism initiatives”.

“We have also requested Kerala Government to showcase its products in the upcoming International Tourism Exhibition, scheduled to be held in September. Besides tourism, Kerala can also leverage the potential in various other sectors such as spices, agriculture, and fisheries with the starting of the direct connectivity with Vietnam”, he said on the sidelines of the function.

• Also read: VietJet to start direct flight between Vietnam and Kochi from Aug 12

The Kochi – HCMC route will be operated with a frequency of 4 flights/week on every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. The flights from Kochi will depart at 23:50 (local time) and land in Ho Chi Minh City at 06:40 (local time). The return flights will depart from Ho Chi Minh City at 19:20 (local time) and arrive in Kochi at 22:50 (local time).

Jay L Lingeswara – Vietjet Vice President of Commerce said Kochi is the key international airport, connecting to 31 international destinations. In the first 5 months of 2023, India has 1,41,000 visitors to Vietnam; expected to reach 5,00,000 a year. Previously, in 2022, the number of Indian visitors to Vietnam was 1,37,900, ranking 9th in the 10 markets sending tourists to Vietnam. Vietjet’s new route is expected to bring about 10,000 more passengers from the southern region of India to Vietnam in 2023, he said.

Vietjet has also extended its signature mega sale promotions every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for Indians with a one-way price from only ₹5,555, as well as discounted fares for Business and SkyBoss tickets.