India will be among the top two markets globally for Vietnam Airlines in the next five years, with $100 million in revenue. The airline is expecting exponential revenue growth in FY25 with the addition of flights from tier 2 and 3 cities in India. It expects revenue of $60 million from the Indian market.
The airline expects a 40 per cent increase in capacity in the upcoming fiscal, said Nguyen Trung Hieu, Country Manager for India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal at Vietnam Airlines in an interview. He further added that India is the fastest growing market for the airline.
Hieu said that since Vietnam Airlines started operation in 2022 in India, the flag carrier has seen a 40 per cent year-on-year growth every year. Speaking about the revenue growth, Hieu said, in FY24, the airline expects to cross a revenue of $40 million.
“In FY25, we expect a revenue growth of $60 million. We are going to deploy our A350 aircraft for routes from India; we except that to add 40 per cent more capacity. This will help us boost our revenues tremendously,” he said.
Currently, Vietnam Airlines operates 14 flights weekly with its A321 aircraft from Delhi and Mumbai to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Furthermore, it provides connections to China, Japan, Korea, Australia and ASEAN countries from India.
When asked if the country is seeking more bilateral rights, Hieu said that the airline has spoken to its authorities seeking more seats from India. Currently, it is allowed to operate 14 flights weekly from the top five metro cities. However, it is allowed to operate flights from tier two cities. “We are exploring flights from Gujarat, Lucknow and Chennai in the coming fiscal. If we take these also into account, we believe that our revenues will be significantly higher than $60 million.”
He said point-to-point connectivity contributes to 65 per cent of its mix, whereas other connectivity to other destinations continues to contribute 35 per cent, with a passenger load factor of 80 per cent.
In the mid-term, he said, “India has the potential to become one of the top two revenue contributors for Vietnam Airlines.” According to him, China contributes $150 million, “We believe India can become one of the top two revenue contributors for the airline. In the next five years, India has the potential to contribute $100 million to our revenue.”
When asked if the airline is seeking codeshare agreements with Indian airlines, Hieu said, “We are in conversation with Air India and IndiGo for a codeshare.” With both these airlines , Vietnam airlines has an interline agreement.
