I have flown both Vietnam Airlines and VietJet several times. They both have their respective advantages and disadvantages.
But it appears that VietJet is about to surpass Vietnam Airlines, which is the official state carrier. Pretty good development for an airline that has only been in existence since 2011 and has spawned southeast Asia’s first female billionaire.
The problem is that Vietnam holds the majority stake in Vietnam Airlines and that has created a bureaucratic culture that has kept the company from keeping up with VietJet’s rapid market expansion.
Vietnam has made a good faith effort to disgorge state owned enterprises into the private sector, but corruption has impeded this effort, as Communist Party functionaries don’t want to give up their patronage.
Just in the last day or so, Vietnam security arrested a Deputy Minister of Trade for bribery. Just indicative of the problem.
I would imagine that the day is not far away when VietJet opens a route to the United States, probably to Los Angeles or San Francisco.
