VietJet to hire more than 5,000 new Thai staff for expansion

[BANGKOK] VietJet Aviation plans to employ more than 5,000 new staff in Thailand as Vietnam’s biggest budget carrier accelerates flight and route expansion to South-east Asia’s most popular travel destination.

VietJet Thailand, the Vietnamese airline’s Thai unit, this year will start new direct flights to major Asian cities to tap regional air travel growth, according to its statement late Wednesday (Aug 6). The new markets include Japan, South Korea and India, it said.

VietJet joins peers such as Thai Airways International and Asia Aviation that have opened new regional routes as the South-east Asia’s third-biggest economy quickens its push to become a major aviation hub. The government is expanding passenger capacity at its international airports in Bangkok and tourist hotspots such as Phuket and Chiang Mai to attract more airlines and travellers.

VietJet Thailand is filling openings for positions including pilots, cabin crew, engineers, technicians and ground staff. The airline did not specify how many employees it currently has.

The expansion comes after a London judge denied UK investment fund FitzWalter Capital Ltd.’s attempt to freeze VietJet’s global assets over unpaid fees.

VietJet’s Thai unit posted a net income of 64 million baht (S$2.5 million) in 2024, from a loss of 3.6 billion baht a year earlier, according to the commerce ministry’s data. Total revenue last year jumped 45 per cent from a year earlier to 19 billion baht.

VietJet Thailand’s new routes will include Bangkok to Seoul, starting Oct 1; Bangkok to Osaka, launching Dec 1; Bangkok to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport, beginning Dec 15; Bangkok to Kolkata, India, starting Nov 16 and Bangkok to Ahmedabad, India, on Dec 4. BLOOMBERG