VietNamNet Bridge – Flights connecting Vietnam and Singapore are seeing unprecedented growth rate, according to industry observers.

Singapore now has air connections with three cities in the country, HCM City, Hanoi and Da Nang, and starting in November, with Phu Quoc Island.

Seven airlines are now competing on the Singapore – HCM City air route. They include two national airlines, Vietnam Airlines and Singapore Airlines; Lion Air, a carrier from Jakarta, flying with large airplanes B737-900ER; and budget airlines Tiger Air and Jetstar Asia.

With the highest number of seats provided by any airline, the HCM City – Singapore air route is now the busiest connection in the country (as of the end of May).

National flag air carrier Vietnam Airlines alone serves three flights a day with Airbus A321 aircraft (184 seats, including 16 business-class seats).

Tiger Air provides 23 flights a week on the same route with A320 aircraft.

Since May 23, Vietjet Air, a private Vietnamese carrier, has been offering seven flights a week, equal to an additional 2,520 seats a week. And Jetstar Pacific, a domestic budget airline, will begin flying the HCM City – Singapore route on October 27.

In addition, from December 19, Singapore Airlines, which now provides 14 flights on the route, will offer three more flights a week, on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

All of the 17 additional flights will use large-body Airbus A330-300, designed with 255 economy-class seats and 30 business-class seats. This addition will raise the total number of seats offered every week to 9,690.

In 1992, when it began flying to HCM City, Singapore Airlines provided only four flights a week on the Airbus A310.

Melvin Ng, who recently was appointed the new CEO of Singapore Airlines (SIA) in Vietnam, said the country had great potential in the aviation market.

He said the air carrier would increase the total number of flights between HCM City and Singapore to 19 a week, and later to three flights a day.

An analyst, citing a report that there are about 3,000 Singaporeans living and working in HCM City, said the demand for flights between the two cities had been increasing rapidly.

According to the Singapore Tourism Board, the number of Vietnamese traveling to Singapore rose steadily from 336,000 in 2012 to 380,000 in 2013. The figure is expected to exceed 400,000 by the end of 2014.

The number of Vietnamese travelers to Singapore in the first quarter of the year increased by 13 percent over the same period in 2013.

DNSG