A new airline is going to connect New Zealand to Asia

Kiwis heading to Asia will now have a new service linking Vietnam and New Zealand. Vietjet Air will start flying between Ho Chi Minh City and Auckland in September 2025 and will initially operate four flights per week. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi for the announcement and said the new route will strengthen the links between both countries “and brings our people closer together”. Vietjet is a low-cost carrier and was founded in 2007. It flies predominately around Asia and Australia. The airline operates six Vietnam-Australia routes, linking Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney to Ho Chi Minh City, and Melbourne and Sydney to Hanoi. With a fleet of 94 aircraft, the airline is rapidly expanding with more than 300 on order. Air New Zealand had previously flown the Ho Chi Minh City-Auckland route on a seasonal basis for three years until October 2018. At the time the national carrier blamed relatively low demand, but also highlighted issues with the engines of its Dreamliner planes.<br/>