Air India Launches Non-Stop Flights Connecting Delhi to Ho Chi Minh City

Air India, the mainline carrier under the Tata Group has launched non-stop flights connecting Delhi and Ho Chi Minh City. With this launch, the airline marks its foray into the Vietnamese market. Air India has become the second FSC to operate on this route in a market driven by Low-Cost Carriers.

The airline has also planned an expansion for this route.

Air India Launches Ho Chi Minh City Operations

Air India has launched direct flights connecting Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) and Ho Chi Minh City Airport (SGN). The inaugural flight is in the air. Airbus A320neo registered as VT-CIH is operating the maiden flight. From now on, the airline will operate on this route five times a week. Flights will be operational every day except Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The airline is deploying its twin-class Airbus A320neo on this route. These aircraft are configured with 12 Business and 150 Economy Class seats.

Here is a quick look at the flight timings:

AI388: Delhi to Ho Chi Minh City; Departure: 13:15, Arrival: 19:55

AI389: Ho Chi Minh City to Delhi; Departure: 20:55, Arrival: 00:30 (+1)

Ho Chi Minh City becomes the fifth city in Southeast Asia to have Air India operations. Currently, the airline operates in Singapore, Bangkok, Phuket, and Yangon. In addition to the nonstop traffic, the airline aims to cater to transiting passengers heading from Vietnam to the US, UK, and Europe.

From 2 July, Air India will increase the frequency on this route from five to six weekly. An additional flight on Tuesdays will start at the same time.

Competition Heating Up

Air India has become the third airline to launch flights between Delhi and Ho Chi Minh City. The other two are Vietnam Airlines and VietJet Air. Both the Vietnamese carriers operate on this route, utilizing their widebody aircraft. VietJet Air uses its densely configured Airbus A330s, while Vietnam Airlines operates with its flagship A350 product.

Vietnam Airlines launched widebody flights just a few weeks ago. VietJet Air serves 4X weekly, while Vietnam Airlines operates 3X weekly on this route. The latter is in the process of upgrading the Mumbai route to widebody as well.

Air India has become the second Indian carrier to connect Delhi and Saigon. IndiGo is already connecting both HCM City and Hanoi to Kolkata. Air India is the only Indian FSC serving this market. Earlier, Jet Airways had a good grip on the India-Vietnam market, but it went bankrupt in 2019.

Vietnamese LCC VietJet Air is the largest shareholder in the India-Vietnam market. Other than non-stop traffic, this airline utilizes its Southeast Asian network to provide seamless connectivity to passengers traveling to Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, etc. Air India is also expected to launch flights connecting India to Kuala Lumpur.

Conclusion

Air India has launched direct flights connecting Delhi and Ho Chi Minh City. The airline will now operate five weekly flights, with an expansion planned for July month. It will become the second Indian carrier to launch flights between India and Vietnam. It becomes the third airline to operate flights between Delhi and Saigon, after VietJet Air and Vietnam Airlines.

What do you think about the Vietnam foray of Air India? Discuss in the comment section.