Australian travel advisors accustomed to looking towards Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Dubai or Doha when sending clients beyond Asia may soon have another gateway demanding attention: Vietnam.
And the airline worth watching is Vietjet.
The Vietnamese carrier has spent the past few years building a substantial Australian presence, but two developments could change how travel advisors view the airline altogether: the December opening of the enormous new Long Thanh International Airport near Ho Chi Minh City and Vietjet’s first move into Europe.
For advisors, that doesn’t mean rushing out tomorrow and selling Europe via Vietjet and Long Thanh. That network isn’t there yet.
It does mean Vietjet deserves a considerably closer look.
Australia is becoming increasingly important
Vietjet already connects Ho Chi Minh City directly with Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, giving Australians considerably more choice when travelling to Vietnam.
Its Australian ambitions aren’t stopping there.
From 9 January 2027, Vietjet is scheduled to begin Ho Chi Minh City services to the new Western Sydney International Airport, initially operating twice weekly with Airbus A330 aircraft. The Australian Government says frequencies are expected to increase to three weekly services in March.
For travel advisors, that increasingly makes Vietjet more than simply an airline for clients wanting an inexpensive holiday in Vietnam.
The real opportunity lies in what happens next.
Long Thanh changes the equation
Long Thanh International Airport is scheduled to begin commercial operations on 1 December 2026, creating a new aviation gateway approximately 40 kilometres east of Ho Chi Minh City.
The airport is being developed partly to relieve pressure on the heavily constrained Tan Son Nhat International Airport and, more ambitiously, to strengthen Vietnam’s position as an international aviation hub.
Its introduction will be staged.
Between 1 December 2026 and 27 March 2027, airlines will be encouraged, but not required, to move international passenger and cargo operations to Long Thanh according to their commercial requirements.
The big change comes from 28 March 2027.
Under the transition plan endorsed by Vietnam’s aviation regulator, long-haul international passenger and cargo flights serving Europe, the Americas, Oceania, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and Central Asia are scheduled to transfer to Long Thanh. From 30 October 2027, nearly all remaining international services are planned to move there, apart from certain short-haul flights of less than 1,000 kilometres operated by Vietnamese carriers.
In other words, this isn’t merely Ho Chi Minh City getting another airport.
Long Thanh is being positioned as Vietnam’s major southern long-haul gateway.
Vietjet has plans of its own
Vietjet is already preparing for the move.
During Long Thanh’s initial operating period, the airline has registered domestic services to Hanoi, Hai Phong, Vinh and Thanh Hoa. More significantly for the travel trade, Vietjet has committed to maintaining at least two international routes at the new airport.
Its longer-term intentions are considerably more interesting.
According to Airports Corporation of Vietnam information reported by Việt Nam News, Vietjet plans to station eight to 10 narrow-body aircraft at Long Thanh by the 2027 northern summer schedule, while also intending to deploy Airbus A330-300 and A330-900 wide-body aircraft on longer-haul services involving India, Australia and Europe.
For Australian travel advisors, those last three markets are worth circling in red.
They potentially put Australia, Vietnam and Europe into the same network conversation.
Potentially is the important word.
Europe is no longer just an ambition
Concrete evidence already shows Vietjet wants to extend beyond its traditional Asian network.
On 10 October 2026, the airline is scheduled to launch Hanoi–Prague, marking its first European destination.
The service will initially operate twice weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays using A330 aircraft, with flights transiting Almaty in Kazakhstan. Vietjet says the service represents its expansion into the European Union. Prague Airport separately describes Prague as Vietjet’s first European destination.
That distinction is important for agents.
Prague is being served from Hanoi, not Ho Chi Minh City or Long Thanh. Advisors therefore shouldn’t yet present Australia–Long Thanh–Europe as an established Vietjet through-routing proposition.
But Prague changes the strategic picture.
Vietjet is no longer merely talking about Europe. It is entering the market.
Why advisors should start watching now
There is a big difference between recommending an airline and understanding where it is heading.
For now, Vietjet’s clearest Australian proposition remains travel between Australia and Vietnam, with onward opportunities across its broader network.
Long Thanh could eventually make that proposition considerably more ambitious.
If Vietjet develops Australia–Long Thanh services alongside long-haul connections to India, Central Asia and Europe, Vietnam could emerge as another option in a market traditionally dominated by the major Asian and Middle Eastern hubs.
That would put Vietjet up against some formidable competition.
Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Qatar Airways and other established network carriers offer frequencies, mature hub operations and extensive European connectivity that Vietjet cannot presently match.
Vietjet, however, doesn’t necessarily need to beat them at their own game.
Its opportunity is to offer another combination of price, destination choice, and Vietnam stopover options for travellers willing to consider something different.
For advisors, the usual disciplines remain essential: compare the complete fare rather than the headline price and carefully examine baggage allowances, meals, seat selection, connection arrangements, schedule frequency and fare flexibility before recommending an itinerary.
Low fares are useful. Low fares attached to an inconvenient itinerary can become rather less charming somewhere around hour 17.
A carrier worth keeping on the radar
So should Australian travel advisors start recommending Vietjet for European journeys?
Not simply because Long Thanh is opening.
The more compelling argument is that advisors should start understanding Vietjet’s evolving network now.
Australia is already important to the carrier. Western Sydney joins the map in January. Prague puts Vietjet into Europe in October. Long Thanh opens commercially in December, with Vietnam planning to shift long-haul international operations there from March 2027.
Put those pieces together and an interesting aviation strategy begins to emerge.
Vietjet may still be best known to many Australians for inexpensive flights to Vietnam, but travel advisors would be wise not to pigeonhole it permanently as simply another low-cost carrier.
Vietnam is building the airport. Vietjet is building the network.
What happens when the two properly come together could be well worth watching.
By: Christine Nguyen – © 2026.
Read Time: 4 minutes.
Author Bio:
Christine’s story is one of quiet courage, told without fuss and lived with remarkable grace. She arrived in Australia as a young refugee from Vietnam, carrying little more than hope, family, and a curiosity that refused to be extinguished. Sydney became home, built patiently, brick by careful brick.
She studied Tourism at TAFE and soon found her place in inbound travel, working with one of the city’s leading destination companies. Christine loved showing visitors the Australia that lives beyond postcards, warmer, truer, and far more interesting.
When the sea began to whisper, and life asked for a gentler rhythm, she listened. Designing brochures, writing blogs, she discovered storytelling waiting quietly inside her.
Today, at Global Travel Media, Christine writes with warmth and wisdom, reminding us, softly and persuasively, why travel still matters.
