Vietjet poised to become Vietnam's top airline in win for billionaire founder

The balance of power in Vietnam's aviation industry is shifting as low-cost carrier Vietjet looks likely to eclipse state-run Vietnam Airlines in international passenger numbers this year and may become the overall market leader. Vietjet, Vietnam's first private-sector commercial airline, started flying in 2011 and has achieved rapid growth with low fares and innovative service. It has produced Southeast Asia's first self-made female billionaire, founder and Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao. Vietjet's total domestic and international passengers appear to have exceeded 22m for January to November in figures compiled by Nikkei, up about 20% from a year earlier on post-COVID travel demand. The total slightly exceeds the passengers carried by the financially struggling Vietnam Airlines group, including low-cost carrier Pacific Airlines and domestic-only Vietnam Air Services. Driving Vietjet's growth is international flights, which appear to have carried more than 7m passengers. The company's share of Vietnam's international passenger travel, excluding foreign airlines, is estimated to exceed 50%. Thao told a shareholders meeting in April that Vietjet would be a "pioneer" that charts new courses. Since the start of 2023, the airline has launched new routes between Vietnam and Jakarta, Australia's Adelaide and Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar. Direct flights from Ho Chi Minh City from to Tokyo's Haneda Airport also began. It had 80 international routes at the end of September, up by 32 from the end of 2022 and surpassing Vietnam Airlines.<br/>