New budget airline could fly you from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane

Budget airline VietJet has applied to run thousands of domestic flights a year from Sydney Airport, potentially giving Australian travellers a fresh option to travel between the NSW capital, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Aviation sources said VietJet, which already flies to Australia from overseas, could use a different name for its domestic operations and begin by flying five planes in the country before increasing its fleet size.

The federal government has acknowledged that a proposed “new entrant” has requested the 2252 take-off and landing slots in Sydney Airport but not named the airline behind the plan. This masthead has confirmed the company is VietJet.

A spokesperson for government said the slots would be allocated following government approvals.

Travel between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – the so-called Golden Triangle – comprises the most commonly flown routes in Australian aviation. Sydney-Melbourne is the 6th busiest route in the world, according to aviation data provider OAG.

After Rex Airlines stopped flying between capital cities in July 2024, the average airfare on all major city routes increased 13.3 per cent by September 2024, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found.

Civil Aviation Safety Authority, which would need to approve an airline to fly in Australia, declined to comment. VietJet said it “continuously evaluates opportunities for international cooperation and growth that align with our long-term strategy”.

“However, we do not comment on market speculation.”

Australia has served as a tough market for upstart competitors facing Qantas and its low-cost carrier Jetstar. Singapore Airline’s budget airline Tiger Airways Australia was bought by Virgin in 2014. Budget start-up airline Bonza expanded rapidly before collapsing in 2024.

Rex has since exited administration and been bought by US-based regional carrier and aviation services company AirT. Virgin went into administration after COVID hit in 2020 and has since been purchased, restructured and relisted.

VietJet, which became Vietnam’s first privately owned airline when it began flying in 2011, has made network expansion a priority, operating subsidiaries through South-East Asia, including Thailand, and as far as Kazakhstan.

It has previously attracted negative press for stunts featuring women dressed only in bikinis and fought a long legal battle with a former banker at Macquarie Group.

The airline announced a “strategy to scale up its international flight network” in April, “underpinned by safe and reliable operations, global growth momentum, and outstanding resilience amidst a volatile period for the global aviation industry”.

VietJet operates daily return flights to Ho Chi Minh City from both Sydney and Melbourne, offering seven weekly services for each city. Brisbane and Perth are connected to Ho Chi Minh City with five and three weekly return flights, respectively.

The airline flies 135 aircraft, with 101 based in Vietnam, and has placed orders for 100 A321neos and another A330neos. VietJet also operates a handful of China-built COMAC planes.

The company posted revenue of VND 82.093 trillion (A$4.4 billion) in 2025, with a pre-tax profit jump of 51 per cent, up A$112.7 million.

Melbourne Airport declined to comment. A spokesperson for Brisbane Airport said that: “VietJet is an established airline partner” which operates “highly successful” services between Brisbane and Ho Chi Minh City. “We engage with them regularly as part of our broader airline relationships.”

Sydney Airport declined to comment.

The Financial Review first reported plans for the VietJet subsidiary in Australia.

Airport Coordination Limited, which manages flight movements at airports, said: “ACL has reserved slots for a new entrant which have not yet been allocated, pending completion of the due process”.

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