Vietjet Air (VJ) opened ticket sales on August 10, 2026, for its first flights out of Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport (WSI), according to a media release published by WSI. The Vietnamese low-cost carrier will fly twice a week between Western Sydney and Ho Chi Minh City from January 10, 2027, stepping up to three weekly return services from March 2027.
The route answers years of demand from Sydney’s Vietnamese community and gives Australians a new direct path into southern Vietnam. Vietjet will also send its Thai subsidiary, Vietjet Thailand, from WSI to Bangkok four times a week starting in November 2027. Both routes make Vietjet one of the first international carriers to commit to WSI’s long-haul network ahead of the airport’s opening.
Vietjet’s Ho Chi Minh City Schedule Runs Twice Weekly from January 2027
Vietjet’s new WSI to Ho Chi Minh City service will operate on Sundays and Wednesdays when it begins in January, using a twin-aisle Airbus A330. The journey covers roughly 8.5 hours between Western Sydney and Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN), the carrier’s home hub in southern Vietnam.
Flight VJ88 is scheduled to depart WSI at 12:05pm and land in Ho Chi Minh City at 4:40pm local time. The return service, VJ87, leaves Ho Chi Minh City at 9:25pm and arrives back into WSI at 10am the following morning. A third weekly frequency joins the schedule from March 2027, once the route settles into regular operation.
Vietjet Thailand Adds a Bangkok Route from WSI In November 2027
Vietjet’s Thai arm, Vietjet Thailand, plans to launch four weekly flights between WSI and Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) starting in November 2027. The airline has not yet confirmed the aircraft type or exact schedule for this second WSI route.
The Bangkok addition means WSI will have two Vietjet-operated routes into Southeast Asia within its first year of international flying. It also signals that the Vietjet group sees Western Sydney as more than a single-route market.
Inside Vietjet’s Airbus A330 Cabin on the Ho Chi Minh City Route
Vietjet’s Airbus A330-300 fleet has an average age of approximately 13.6 years. According to data from planespotters.net, the youngest aircraft is VN-A816, at 10.7 years old, while VN-A810 is the oldest at 17.9 years. Vietjet’s A330s carry a no-frills long-haul layout built around the airline’s budget model. The cabin includes:
- Twelve angled lie-flat seats in business class
- 365 standard recliner seats in economy
- No seatback video screens
- No inflight Wi-Fi
Passengers wanting entertainment on the 8.5-hour flight will need to bring their own devices, since Vietjet’s A330s carry none of the usual widebody amenities offered by full-service competitors on the same route.
Why WSI’s Vietnamese Community Makes the Route a Natural Fit
WSI sits in Badgerys Creek, about 50km west of Sydney’s central business district, inside a catchment of more than three million residents. WSI chief executive Simon Hickey pointed to the area’s Vietnamese population as central to the route’s appeal, noting the region is home to “more than half of Greater Sydney’s Vietnamese population” among its more than 70,000 residents who regularly travel to see family in Vietnam.
That community backdrop lines up with wider travel patterns between the two countries. More than half a million people traveled between New South Wales and Vietnam during 2025 alone, underlining the demand base Vietjet is targeting with its January launch.
Vietjet Will be Alongside JetStar and QantasLink in WSI
Vietjet is not the only carrier racing to build a Western Sydney network before the airport’s first flight departs. Jetstar Airways (JQ) will operate WSI’s first-ever commercial passenger flight on October 25, 2026, with Qantas Group chief executive Vanessa Hudson calling it a milestone built on the airline being “the first Australian airline to begin operations at Western Sydney International Airport.”
Qantas itself follows in March 2027 with QantasLink Embraer E190 flights to Melbourne and Brisbane, arriving on the same broad timeline as Vietjet’s own launch. Singapore Airlines has already committed to a daily nonstop WSI to Singapore service from November 23, 2026, while Fiji Airways is reportedly considering its own WSI route and the path has been cleared for daily Emirates and Qatar Airways flights. Vietjet’s entry adds a distinctly Southeast Asian, community-driven route to a roster otherwise dominated by domestic and Gulf carriers.
Vietjet’s Broader Push into the Australian Market
Vietjet already flies to Ho Chi Minh City from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD), Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, and the airline has expanded its Australian footprint quickly in recent years.
The carrier is also reported to be considering domestic flights within Australia that would rival Jetstar, which would make it the first international airline to attempt that move since Virgin Australia-owned Tigerair collapsed in late 2020.
Western Sydney gives Vietjet a second Sydney gateway rather than a replacement for its existing SYD service, adding capacity to a corridor the airline already treats as a growth priority. Combined with the new Bangkok route, the WSI launch points to Vietjet building a genuine multi-city Australian network rather than a single opportunistic route.
All in All
Tickets for the January 2027 Ho Chi Minh City flights are on sale now, with the March 2027 third weekly frequency to follow automatically once the route is established. Vietjet has not yet released fares or an on-sale date for the November 2027 Bangkok route, and further schedule details are expected closer to that launch.
