Greater Bay Airlines launches Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City flights, fuelling competition among carriers for travellers
- Start-up carrier now operates two return flights a week to Ho Chi Minh City, on Tuesdays and Fridays
- Business travellers account for majority of travellers to city, while tourists make up remainder, according to airline
Start-up Greater Bay Airlines has launched direct flights between Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, fuelling competition among carriers for travellers between the two cities.
The airline now operates two return flights a week to the city, on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The new route marks the carrier’s sixth destination since its debut last year. It also flies to Osaka and Tokyo in Japan, Taipei in Taiwan, Seoul in South Korea and Bangkok in Thailand.
Gloria Slethaug, the airline’s marketing and sales general manager, said in an interview on Thursday that its next route would be to Manila in the Philippines, which would launch in August, followed by Beijing and Shanghai next year.
Business travellers accounted for the majority of travellers to Ho Chi Minh City, while tourists made up the remainder, she said.
The route’s debut on Tuesday has fuelled competition for travellers between the two cities as it locks horns with Cathay Pacific Airways, Vietnam Airlines and budget carrier VietJet Air.
“We aim at targeting small- and medium-sized enterprises, seamen and ultimately those who travel from mainland China, especially the Greater Bay Area, via Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City,” Slethaug said.
The city, formerly and still widely known as Saigon, is the most populous in Vietnam, with about 9.3 million people. It is the country’s financial and cultural hub, with Hong Kong among the top six sources of foreign investment over the past decade.
And they’re off! Hong Kong’s Greater Bay Airlines launches first flight to Osaka
Slethaug said the issuance of travel visas to Vietnamese visitors posed a challenge to the flow of people, which explained why there were “not too many” travellers on its first Hong Kong-bound flight on Tuesday.
The inaugural Ho Chi Minh City-bound flight was about half full on that day.
“As for the visa requirements for Hong Kong residents heading to Vietnam, the situation is better than we expected. It used to be more complicated and more expensive,” she said.
After Vietnam reopened to overseas visitors in March last year, Hong Kong residents were required to apply for a US$25 electronic visa. Previously, the application had to be made in person and it cost US$50.
Slethaug said the airline’s three Boeing 737-800 jets were flying to the six destinations, but a fourth such plane would be ready by September and the carrier was aiming to have a total of six by the end of this year.
She said the extra plane would be used to increase flights on the Hong Kong-Osaka route, the best performing service in its portfolio since its debut in April.
“Our strategy for the rest of this year is to thicken our routes by adding flights,” she said.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board regards Vietnam as an emerging destination for city residents. According to its data, Hong Kong received 11,776 visitors from the country in the first half of this year, or 42 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
Visitors from Vietnam represent a minority of the city’s total number of tourist arrivals at nearly 13 million during the six-month period, or 37 per cent of pre-Covid levels.
Hong Kong’s Greater Bay Airlines wants government to act to increase competition
Benny Law Kam-tong, an assistant general manager at travel agency Nan Hwa (Express) Travel Service, suggested that Vietnamese authorities step up their marketing efforts to attract more visitors from Hong Kong.
Law, who has been leading Hong Kong group tours to Vietnam for 30 years, said residents who finished work for the day could take a late night flight to Ho Chi Minh City for a long weekend, adding that low prices there were appealing.
“For people who prefer short-haul flights, Ho Chi Minh City is an option, which is only two hours away from Hong Kong. It is also known for its food, golf and French heritage,” he said.
Mario Mendis, general manager of Sofitel Saigon Plaza, the first international hotel to open in Ho Chi Minh City 25 years ago, said the return of global tourists and flights would take time.
Hong Kong’s Greater Bay Airlines to expand aircraft fleet ‘to 22 planes by 2027’
He added that 80 per cent of the guests at the five-star hotel were business travellers, while the rest were tourists.
He said many tourists from Singapore and Malaysia visited the Vietnamese city.
“It is an affordable destination, travellers become millionaires upon arrival,” he said, adding that US$100 is worth VND$2.36 million.
He said a tourist could enjoy the city with just US$5 to US$10 a day, excluding hotel accommodation costs.
In the first half of 2023, 5.41 million people visited Vietnam, representing nearly two-thirds of pre-Covid levels.
