Starting with irregular flights to Australia in the early 1990s, Vietnam Airlines has spent three decades expanding its flight network to and from Australia, supporting passengers, and promoting cooperation between these two countries.
A special market
Set apart from other continents in the southern hemisphere and surrounded by oceans, Australia is a prosperous country with beautiful natural landscapes that draws tourists from around the world. Around 350,000 people of Vietnamese descent live, study, and work “Down Under”.
Australia’s unique geographical location has helped its air transport industry to develop and made airplanes the preferred mode of passenger transport. In 1994, Vietnam Airlines became the first Vietnamese airline to operate irregular flights to Australia and has continuously expanded its connections with regular direct flights that allow for easy passenger travel. Over the past 30 years, the airline has conducted more than 12,800 flights and transported six million passengers and nearly 170,000 tons of cargo on this route, promoting trade, tourism, and increasingly strong cooperative ties between Vietnam and Australia.
Development opportunities
Vietnam and Australia have enjoyed over 50 years of cooperative relations, which are increasingly being strengthened and consolidated. Australia is currently Vietnam’s seventh largest trading partner, while Vietnam is Australia’s tenth largest trading partner. Australia is also one of the largest providers of non-refundable Official Development Assistance (ODA) and offers many scholarship programs for Vietnamese citizens. With a world-leading education system, Australia is an ideal study destination, currently home to 31,000 Vietnamese students.
Since 2018, Vietnam and Australia have established a strategic partnership. Notably, during the visit to Australia by Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in early March 2024, Vietnam and Australia elevated their strategic partnership to a comprehensive strategic partnership, creating a breakthrough in cooperation in economics, trade, investment, tourism, and many other essential fields, including the development of human resources, collaboration in education and training, enhancing student exchanges between the two countries, and facilitating contributions from the Vietnamese community in Australia and Australians in Vietnam to further the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
This is an excellent opportunity for Vietnam Airlines to accelerate its expansion of a significant market with an average revenue growth of over 15% per year and the highest passenger growth rate, reaching 23% in 2023. Vietnam Airlines plans to increase flight frequency and explore launching new routes between Vietnam and Australia to enhance its competitive capacity. Passengers can look forward to comfortable flights aboard a new-generation of wide-body aircraft including Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s, along with superior products that approach international 5-star service standards.
The history of Vietnam Airlines’ Australia routes
| 1994 | Operated irregular flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Sydney/Melbourne. |
| 1996 | Launched regular flights on the Ho Chi Minh City – Sydney/Melbourne route with 2 flights/week. |
| 1998 | Started flights from Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City – Sydney once a week and Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City – Melbourne once a week. |
| 2000 | Increased frequency on the Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City – Sydney route to 2 flights/week and Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City – Melbourne to 2 flights/week. |
| 2002 | Increased frequency on the Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City – Sydney route to 3 flights/week, bringing the total to 5 flights/week between Vietnam and Australia. |
| 2003 | Increased frequency on the Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City – Sydney route to 4 flights/week and the Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City – Melbourne route to 3 flights/week. |
| 2008 | Increased frequency on the Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City – Melbourne route to 4 flights/week, bringing the total to 8 flights/week between Vietnam and Australia. |
| 2010 | Increased frequency on the Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City – Sydney route to 5 flights/week and the Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City – Melbourne route to 5 flights/week. |
| 2011 | Increased frequency on the Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City – Sydney route to 7 flights/week and the Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City – Melbourne route to 7 flights/week. |
| 2017 | Launched direct flights from Hanoi to Sydney with 3 flights/week and operated the Ho Chi Minh City – Sydney route with 7 flights/week and the Ho Chi Minh City – Melbourne route with 7 flights/week. |
| 2023 | Launched direct flights from Hanoi to Melbourne with 3 flights/week, and Ho Chi Minh City to Perth (Australia) with 3 flights/week. |
| 2024 | Celebrated 30 years of linking Vietnam and Australia and welcomed the six millionth passenger on this route. |
Flight Schedule between Vietnam and Australia
| Route Flight | Segment | Operating Days | Aircraft Type |
| Ho Chi Minh City – Sydney | Ho Chi Minh City – Sydney | Daily | Airbus A350 |
| Sydney – Ho Chi Minh City | Daily | Airbus A350 | |
| Hanoi – Sydney | Hanoi – Sydney | Tuesday, Friday, Sunday | Airbus A350 |
| Sydney – Hanoi | Monday, Wednesday, Saturday | Airbus A350 | |
| Ho Chi Minh City – Melbourne | Ho Chi Minh City – Melbourne | Daily | Airbus A350 |
| Melbourne – Ho Chi Minh | Daily | Airbus A350 | |
| Hanoi – Melbourne | Hanoi – Melbourne | Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday | Airbus A350 |
| Melbourne – Hanoi | Monday, Wednesday, Friday | Airbus A350 | |
| Ho Chi Minh City – Perth | Ho Chi Minh City – Perth | Monday, Thursday, Saturday | Boeing 787 |
| Perth – Ho Chi Minh City | Tuesday, Friday, Sunday | Boeing 787 |
