Vietnamese low-cost carrier VietJet Air is believed to be behind a new Australian airline planning to enter the domestic market with Boeing 737 services later this year.
An unnamed new entrant linked to VietJet has been allocated 2,250 slots at Sydney Airport for the northern winter scheduling period, running from early November 2026 to early April 2027.
The proposed operation is expected to begin with up to five Boeing 737 aircraft, with the fleet potentially expanding during its first year. Industry sources believe older Boeing 737-800s, widely used by Qantas and Virgin Australia, could be deployed initially.
The Sydney allocation would permit about 102 flights a week, or an average of seven arrivals and seven departures each day.
That would give the airline sufficient capacity to establish a modest presence on Australia’s high-volume “Golden Triangle” routes linking Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
The three routes accounted for about 24 per cent of Australian domestic passenger journeys in April and could also feed VietJet’s existing international flights from the three cities to Ho Chi Minh City.
VietJet began operating in Vietnam in 2011 and has grown into one of Asia’s largest low-cost airlines. It operates almost 140 aircraft across more than 250 domestic and international routes, including Airbus A330 services to Australia.
The airline has declared ambitions to become a multinational aviation group. It has already established VietJet-branded airlines in Thailand and Kazakhstan, following a regional model also used by AirAsia and Indonesia’s Lion Air Group.
VietJet has announced orders and commitments covering up to 600 Airbus, Boeing and Comac aircraft. These include 200 Boeing 737-8s, with 50 earmarked for VietJet Thailand.
However, Australia remains a difficult market for new airlines. Since domestic aviation was deregulated in 1990, numerous carriers have failed, including Ansett Australia, while Virgin Australia and Regional Express have required restructuring and new investment.
Industry executives estimate that a new operator would eventually require at least 10 to 15 aircraft to compete effectively.
Foreign-controlled airlines are permitted to operate domestic Australian services, although any new carrier would require an Air Operator’s Certificate from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. Airport slots can be allocated before certification is completed, provided the approval process is sufficiently advanced.
The allocation follows federal reforms intended to prevent incumbent airlines from holding unused Sydney Airport slots. UK-based Airport Coordination Limited now manages the system and can reallocate unused capacity to new entrants.
Two other proposed carriers, Koala Airlines and Zinc, have also announced plans to enter the Australian market. Neither has secured Sydney Airport slots, with Zinc instead concentrating on the new Western Sydney International Airport.
VietJet has not publicly confirmed its involvement in the proposed airline.
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