Vietjet is cancelling its Adelaide-Ho Chi Minh City service less than a year after commencing the route.
The Vietnamese low-cost carrier began flying to South Australia in November 2023, becoming the first carrier to directly link SA with Vietnam. The service launched on the same day as its inaugural Perth service.
However, its five-times-weekly Adelaide flights will now end on 26 October, due to fleet management issues, the carrier says, and not demand. The airline adds that it hopes to reinstate the service in the future.
VJ currently flies seven routes in five different states in Australia, which isn’t bad for an airline that less than 18 months ago didn’t operate a single service Down Under.
“To reorganise and optimise its fleet’s operational effectiveness and efficiency, Vietjet has made the decision to temporarily suspend its Adelaide-Ho Chi Minh City route from 26th October 2024,” an airline statement says.
“Vietjet remains fully committed to delivering exceptional service to its Australian customers and is actively working on the best solution to resume the route at the earliest opportunity, ensuring a seamless and improved travel experience.”
An Adelaide Airport spokesperson said VJ was dropping its ADL service due to “capacity constraints”.
“There is strong demand from South Australian passengers for Vietjet services and Adelaide Airport continues to work closely with Vietjet on the resumption of the service at the earliest opportunity,” they said.
The carrier’s decision comes just after China Southern Airlines announced the resumption of its Adelaide-Guangzhou service. Emirates will also return to the SA capital on 28 October with non-stop flights to Dubai.
Last month, VJ told Karryon it intends to increase capacity in Australia. Its most recent Aussie launches were new non-stop services between Sydney and Melbourne and the Vietnamese capital Hanoi.
Read our interview with Vietjet Group Vice President Nguyen Thi Thuy Binh from earlier this year.
Last year, Adelaide Airport released details of its $1 billion five-year infrastructure plan.
