Vietjet announced the launch of two new international routes connecting HCM City and Da Nang with Tokyo during a ceremony in Japan’s capital city on Monday.

The event witnessed the presence of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc during his official visit to Japan for the G20 Summit and other high-ranking dignitaries from the two countries.

In his speech at the ceremony, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc spoke highly on the airline’s rapid development with good safety record and high-quality services.

“With the expansion of international and domestic flight networks together with new and modern fleet, Vietjet will become a strong carrier in the region,” PM Phuc said.

Receiving a membership certificate from the Japan Federation of Economic Organisations (Keidanren) was an important milestone for not only Vietjet but also Vietnamese businesses in general, he added.

Vietjet is the first low-cost carrier in the world to join the biggest comprehensive economic federation in Japan, which comprises around 1,500 members, including leading companies in Japan, national industrial associations, regional economic organisations and other special members.

The opening of two new routes proved the two countries’ close relationship, said Nikai Toshihiro, Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party and President of the Japanese-Vietnamese Parliamentary Alliance.

Toshihiro called on Vietjet’s continuous contribution to fostering bilateral relations especially in tourism and vowed that the Japanese aviation agencies would support the airline’s development in the future.

Vietjet’s Vice President Nguyen Thi Thuy Binh said the rapid expansion of Vietjet's flight network to Japan would offer people of the two countries more options for their sight-seeing travels and business trips.

“In the future, we will continue to offer more flying opportunities to all local people and international travelers as well as more exciting experiences on flights connecting the two countries,” she said.

Currently, Vietjet is operating three direct routes between Viet Nam and Japan that link HCM City/Ha Noi with Osaka and Ha Noi with Tokyo.

The new HCM City-Tokyo route will operate daily return flights from July 12 while the Da Nang-Tokyo (Haneda) route will operate daily return services from October 26. — VNS