Thai VietJet Air Launching New Route to India

MUMBAI- A low-cost airline in Thailand, Thai VietJet Air (VZ), has announced a new direct international route between Phuket and Mumbai. This will expand the airline’s presence in the Indian market to two routes from August.

The new flights come at a time when demand for leisure travel between India & Thailand continues to grow. These new flights will mark the entry of the 2nd airline in the sector.

The low-cost carrier already operates daily flights between Mumbai and Bangkok, and this Phuket route becomes its second India–Thailand connection and its first point-to-point service to Phuket from India.

Thai VietJet Air A320-200 with “Amazing Thailand” livery | Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Thai VietJet Air New Phuket Flights

The Phuket–Mumbai service will operate four times a week, using Airbus A320 aircraft configured in an all-economy layout.

Flight VZ762 will depart from Phuket International Airport (HKT) at 10:10 pm local time and will arrive at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai (BOM), at 01:05 am IST.

Flight Time is expected to be approximately 4 hours and 25 minutes. Flights will operate on every Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

The return flight VZ763 will depart from Mumbai at 02:05 am IST and will reach Phuket at 08:20 am local time. Flight Time is expected to be around 4 hours 45 minutes. The Flights will operate on every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.

All of the flights will be operated with 180-seat Airbus A320-200 aircraft.

Photo: Clément Alloing

Current Operators in the India-Thailand Market

The India–Thailand air travel corridor is one of the busiest in Southeast Asia. There are multiple Indian and Thai carriers operating direct flights between various Indian cities and Thai destinations like Bangkok and Phuket.

With the latest addition by Thai VietJet Air, the Mumbai–Phuket sector now sees increased competition. IndiGo is the largest Indian carrier in this space. The airline operates multiple flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Chennai to Bangkok and Phuket.

IndiGo is also the only Indian carrier flying directly to Phuket from multiple Indian cities. While Air India operates flights to Bangkok from Delhi and Mumbai, and it serves Phuket from Delhi.

Thai Airways, the full-service national carrier of Thailand, serves Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru with daily or near-daily services to Bangkok.

Thai VietJet Air enters this sector with a competitive pricing strategy and a strong brand presence in the Thailand domestic market.

Photo: Harsh Tekriwal | AvgeekwithLens

India – Thailand Demand Outlook

Phuket remains a popular destination for Indian travelers year-round, with peaks during festive seasons like Diwali and New Year. For Thai nationals and residents, Mumbai offers a direct gateway to Western India and onward connections across the country via domestic carriers.

Like Bangkok, which already sees high-frequency services, direct flights to Phuket have grown in the last year. Thai VietJet will be competing with IndiGo in the sector, which operates 2x daily flights to Phuket from Mumbai.

Thai VietJet said that they will price the flights aggressively cheap. The airline believes convenient timings could help it capture a significant share of Mumbai–Phuket traffic.

Phuket fares were reportedly really high by IndiGo, which enjoyed the monopoly on the route. However, now the entry of another carrier will likely keep fares competitive.

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