Vietnam’s Vietjet is sharpening its sights on a larger Asia Pacific footprint after securing new milestones around the Singapore Airshow, positioning itself as one of the region’s most ambitious low cost carriers and putting the Philippines squarely in its expansion crosshairs. With fresh widebody and narrowbody aircraft commitments, strong financial results and newly launched services between Ho Chi Minh City and Manila, the airline is moving quickly to cement its role as a key connector for fast growing Southeast Asian markets and beyond.
Singapore Airshow Milestones Signal a New Phase of Growth
The most recent Singapore Airshow provided an important backdrop for Vietjet’s next phase of expansion. While the airline has used past global showcases to unveil headline grabbing aircraft deals, its latest milestones underscore a maturing strategy that blends fleet growth with a sharper focus on regional market share and network depth. Industry observers note that Vietjet is no longer simply accumulating aircraft; it is calibrating the mix of single aisle and widebody jets to match rising cross border demand and to open new city pairs that were previously uneconomical.
In parallel, Vietjet has been translating fleet announcements into tangible performance. The carrier has reported robust revenue and profit growth, buoyed by surging passenger numbers in Vietnam and across its international network. Strong first half 2025 results, including double digit year on year increases in consolidated revenue and pre tax profit, have given management more confidence to accelerate route launches in strategically important markets such as the Philippines and to sustain capacity additions on trunk routes across the Asia Pacific.
The Singapore Airshow has also allowed Vietjet to signal its long term network intentions to partners, airports and tourism boards. By positioning itself as a launch customer for new generation aircraft and highlighting its order book as one of the largest among low cost carriers in the region, the airline is sending a clear message that it intends to be a primary beneficiary of Southeast Asia’s projected multi decade air travel boom.
Crucially, these milestones come at a time when the region’s major legacy and budget airlines are all vying to lock in future slots, incentives and partnerships. Vietjet’s visibility at the airshow and its steady drumbeat of announcements help reinforce its status as a serious competitor able to match, and in some cases outpace, more established carriers on growth trajectory and network ambition.
Ho Chi Minh City – Manila: Vietjet’s First Step Into the Philippines
Nowhere is Vietjet’s regional intent more visible than in the Philippines, a country that has long been on the radar of Southeast Asian carriers thanks to its young population, archipelagic geography and rising middle class. Vietjet has formally entered this market with its first ever direct route between Ho Chi Minh City and Manila, a launch that marks a significant milestone in the airline’s internationalization strategy.
Tickets for the new service went on sale in late August 2025, with operations beginning in November. The route initially operates five weekly return flights between Tan Son Nhat International Airport and Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport, using Airbus A321 aircraft with an all economy configuration that emphasizes high seat density and competitive fares. Flight timings have been tailored to allow Vietnamese and Filipino travelers to connect onward to morning departures and domestic networks on both sides.
The new link is strategically significant on multiple fronts. For Vietjet, it is the first direct connection to the Philippines and a gateway into an underserved Vietnam Philippines market that has traditionally relied on indirect or limited full service options. For tourism authorities and businesses in both countries, the service provides a much needed boost to visitor flows as Vietnam targets more Southeast Asian arrivals and the Philippines seeks to diversify its inbound source markets beyond traditional strongholds in North Asia and North America.
The airline has used its trademark promotional campaigns to stimulate demand from the outset, including limited time zero fare base ticket offers excluding taxes and fees and additional baggage benefits for early bookings. These tactics, familiar to travelers across Vietjet’s existing markets, are designed to quickly build brand awareness in the Philippines and to encourage first time flyers to sample Vietnam’s culinary, cultural and urban attractions via Ho Chi Minh City.
Building a Wider Asia Pacific Footprint From a Vietnam Hub
Vietjet’s push into the Philippines is not an isolated move but part of a broader plan to turn its Vietnamese bases, particularly Ho Chi Minh City, into regional connecting hubs. The airline has been steadily weaving together a network that spans Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and parts of Oceania, positioning Vietnam as a convenient midpoint between emerging tourism and business markets across the wider Asia Pacific region.
The Ho Chi Minh City Manila route illustrates this strategy in practice. From its southern hub, Vietjet offers onward connections to Vietnamese destinations including Hanoi, Danang, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, Hue and Hai Phong, while also reaching regional cities such as Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bali and various points in Northeast Asia. Manila based travelers suddenly gain one stop access to a wide array of leisure and business destinations that previously required circuitous routings or higher fare full service links.
On the inbound side, Vietnamese and third country passengers can tap Manila as a jumping off point for the Philippines’ famed island destinations, from Boracay and Palawan to Cebu and Bohol. The connectivity effect works both ways, amplifying Vietjet’s competitiveness against other low cost carriers that have historically dominated Philippine outbound traffic but may not offer the same breadth of Vietnamese and Indochina connectivity.
As Vietjet takes delivery of additional aircraft from its substantial order pipeline, the airline is expected to thicken frequencies on existing routes, explore new secondary city links and potentially add more Philippine gateways beyond Manila. Build up of a strong Vietnam Philippines corridor also opens the door to triangular itineraries that loop travelers through multiple Southeast Asian countries on a single ticket, aligning with broader tourism initiatives that promote multi destination travel within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Why the Philippines Matters in Vietjet’s Strategy
The Philippines occupies a critical spot in Vietjet’s Asia Pacific ambitions for demographic, geographic and competitive reasons. With a population exceeding 115 million, a sizeable and growing overseas diaspora, and a young, English speaking workforce, the country generates consistent demand for leisure, business, visiting friends and relatives and labor mobility travel. Low cost carriers already have a strong foothold in the domestic and regional segments, but capacity gaps remain on routes connecting emerging Southeast Asian pairs such as Vietnam Philippines.
Geographically, the Philippines forms a natural bridge between mainland Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, sitting astride major north south traffic flows and bordering the Western Pacific. Vietjet’s ability to plug Ho Chi Minh City and other Vietnamese cities into Manila allows the airline to capture new flows that might otherwise route via traditional mega hubs. Over time, carefully timed schedules and potential code sharing with local partners could transform Vietjet’s operations into a competitive alternative for price sensitive travelers on these corridors.
Competition is another motivator. Philippine airlines and regional players have long jostled for market share on routes linking Manila to Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, but Vietnam services have been comparatively thin. By entering early with low fares, modern aircraft and a distinctive brand, Vietjet hopes to secure mindshare among Filipino travelers and to establish itself before rival low cost carriers scale up their Vietnam offerings or new long haul low cost operators seek to intermediate traffic.
The Philippines also dovetails with Vietnam’s own tourism and investment priorities. As Vietnam welcomes record numbers of international visitors and seeks to diversify beyond its traditional East Asian sources, the Philippines presents a promising market of culturally aligned, price conscious, adventure seeking travelers. At the same time, Vietnamese outbound tourism to Philippine beach destinations remains underdeveloped compared with flows to Thailand or Indonesia, creating headroom for growth that Vietjet can actively cultivate through cooperative campaigns with tourism agencies on both sides.
Fleet Expansion, Financial Strength and Route Sustainability
Underlying Vietjet’s network ambitions is an aggressive but increasingly disciplined fleet strategy. The airline has assembled one of the largest order books among Asia’s low cost carriers, with recent commitments for dozens of Airbus A321neo narrowbodies and A330neo widebodies. These next generation jets promise lower fuel burn, longer range and improved passenger comfort, attributes that are especially important on longer medium haul sectors connecting Vietnam to destinations across the broader Asia Pacific.
Crucially, Vietjet’s balance sheet and operating performance have, at least so far, kept pace with its fleet growth. The carrier has reported strong air transport revenue growth, bolstered by high aircraft utilization and solid load factors as regional travel rebounds. Profits have recovered from pandemic era lows, and the airline has emphasized ancillary revenue streams such as baggage, seat selection, onboard meals and loyalty partnerships to underpin yields even as it continues to market aggressively priced base fares.
This financial resilience matters for route sustainability. New international links, particularly into competitive markets like Manila, often take time to mature. Vietjet’s ability to weather initial ramp up periods, adjust capacity through flexible deployment of its single aisle fleet and retain promotional pricing without eroding margins will be key to ensuring that its Philippine venture becomes a durable part of its network rather than a short lived experiment.
The use of fuel efficient aircraft and tight cost controls also positions Vietjet to handle external pressures such as volatile fuel prices, currency fluctuations and shifting regulatory requirements. When combined with Vietnam’s supportive aviation policies and infrastructure investments at key hubs, these factors give Vietjet a platform from which to continue adding Asia Pacific routes while still maintaining a focus on profitability and shareholder returns.
Implications for Travelers and Regional Connectivity
For travelers, Vietjet’s broader Asia Pacific push translates into more choice, lower fares and increasingly seamless connections across a swath of fast growing markets. Philippine passengers, for example, now have direct low cost access to Ho Chi Minh City’s energetic street life, historic districts and burgeoning food scene, as well as to Vietnam’s coastal resorts and heritage towns via connecting flights. Vietnamese travelers, in turn, can reach Manila’s urban attractions and the Philippines’ island destinations without backtracking through third country hubs.
As the airline scales up, travelers across the region may see more point to point options that bypass traditional mega hubs altogether. This disintermediation can shorten journey times, reduce transfer hassles and distribute tourism flows more evenly across secondary cities. It also aligns with broader trends in Asia Pacific aviation, where low cost carriers are increasingly shaping passenger expectations around unbundled fares, self connect itineraries and mobile first booking experiences.
Regional connectivity stands to benefit in more systemic ways as well. Airlines like Vietjet, which bridge multiple ASEAN and wider Asia Pacific markets, help deepen economic integration by facilitating trade, labor mobility and cross border investment. More frequent and affordable flights make it easier for small and medium sized enterprises to explore new markets, for students to pursue education abroad and for families spread across different countries to maintain close ties.
However, the expansion also raises questions around infrastructure capacity, sustainability and service standards. Airports in cities such as Manila and Ho Chi Minh City are already under pressure during peak periods, and the influx of additional budget carriers can exacerbate congestion without commensurate investments in terminals, runways and air traffic management. Airlines, regulators and airport operators will need to coordinate closely to ensure that the benefits of added connectivity are not undermined by operational bottlenecks.
Challenges Ahead and the Road Beyond the Philippines
Despite the promising trajectory, Vietjet’s path to a significantly larger Asia Pacific footprint is not without obstacles. Intensifying competition from regional low cost rivals, emerging long haul low cost entrants and full service carriers deploying low cost subsidiaries will keep downward pressure on yields. Regulatory shifts, including changes in bilateral agreements, traffic rights or ownership rules, could also shape the pace and direction of expansion into certain markets.
The Philippine market itself is competitive and complex, with established local carriers, infrastructure constraints and exposure to weather disruptions that can test newcomer resilience. Vietjet will need to balance rapid growth with deep local engagement, from marketing and distribution to customer service and operational reliability, in order to build loyalty among Filipino travelers who have multiple airline options for regional journeys.
Beyond the Philippines, Vietjet’s Asia Pacific ambitions are likely to encompass further growth in Northeast Asia, South Asia and potentially deeper forays into Australasia as aircraft capabilities and market conditions allow. The airline has already laid groundwork with services to destinations including South Korea, Japan and Australia, and the addition of longer range narrowbodies and efficient widebodies will open new city pair combinations. Success in the Philippines could serve as a template for similar first time entries into other underlinked markets.
Ultimately, Vietjet’s post Singapore Airshow momentum highlights how a once domestic focused upstart has evolved into a regional player with the scale, fleet and financial strength to shape Asia Pacific travel patterns. The launch of Manila services and the focus on a larger Asia Pacific footprint underline an ambition that reaches well beyond Vietnam’s borders. If the airline can navigate competitive pressures, infrastructure challenges and shifting economic cycles, its red and white aircraft are likely to become an increasingly familiar sight across skies from the Philippines to the broader Pacific rim.