Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air and the Vietnamese LCC Vietjet are jointly establishing a new venture to manage a minimum fleet of 20 Boeing 737 MAX Aircraft.
The new airline is expected to be launched as Vietjet Qazaqstan and will work on improving the already existing air connections in Kazakhstan, Vietnam, and other Asian countries.
VietJet’s partner Sovico Group is in a consortium with Aviation Holdings Group and has received stake control of Qazaq Air through Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna. The investment plans were publicly shared almost a year ago.
Samruk-Kazyna CEO Nurlan Zhakupov states, “Strengthening transport connections and creating new points of economic growth is a goal that can be achieved through expansion of regional route network.”
The announcement came during the state visit of Vietnamese General Secretary To Lam as part of the Kazakhstan-Vietname Business Round Table. The Vietnam Finance Ministry recently issued a Foreign investment registration certificate to the Vietnam Aviation Holdings group, giving them the right to purchase.
In a press release, Vietjet exclaimed: “This is a critical step towards the international expansion strategy of vietjet, which aims to foster Vietnam-Kazakhstan ties in aviation, economy, and culture while further unlocking the development potential of the Central Asia aviation market.”
Vietjet’s foray in Kazakhstan targets the region’s specific opportunities in air travel. With Kazakhstan’s growing prominence within Central Asia, there is a heightened demand for dependable and cost-effective air travel options. With the potential to serve that demand through a partnership with Qazaq Air, Vietjet can alleviate rising demand while enhancing regional accessibility. This further sharpens the airline’s focus on expanding its global reach and exploring new high-potential Asian regions that are still unserved.
In addition to encouraging travel, improved accessibility will likely encourage Asian cross-border tourism, trade, and logistics. In the long term, the airline is focused on achieving an economic impact in Kazakhstan by providing incredibly diverse, multi-sector, quality employment opportunities in services such as aviation and logistics. This is part of Vietjet’s aim of developing local economies without losing sight of the strong network of transportation infrastructure needed around the continent.
Also, a Customer Services General Terms Agreement has been signed between Vietjet Qazaqstan and Boeing. The agreement focuses on the new fleet’s software solutions, supply of spare parts, technical assistance, and training pilots and engineers.
From its base at Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport in Astana, Qazaq Air also has international services to Omsk and Novosibirsk in Russia and Samarkand in Uzbekistan. Besides domestic routes within Kazakhstan, the airline’s fleet includes five DHC Dash 8-400 turboprop aircraft.
According to OAG Analyser data, Vietjet has no flights scheduled to operate in Kazakhstan, although it has previously serviced Almaty and Astana. At the Routes Asia 2025 event, the company’s Commercial Vice President Jay L. Lingeswara indicated that they are looking at several European cities—some in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, and even the UK and for possible one-stop options to serve the region, with potential transit points in Kazakhstan.”
The release, together with Qazaq Air, came in the background of Vietjet announcing its financial results for Q1 2025, where consolidated pre-tax profit surged by 24% yearly, reaching 836 billion Vietnamese dong (32 million USD). Revenue also rose by 25%, nearly reaching 17.95 trillion dong.
In the year’s initial quarter, Vietjet carried 6.87 million passengers on 38,700 flights, an increase of 9% and 12%, respectively, relative to the previous year. The airline operated 137 routes, which included 97 international services, and expanded its fleet to 106 aircraft.
During the quarter, ancillary revenue contributed over 35% of the total revenue. Also, Vietjet disclosed its intention to introduce additional routes connecting Vietnam with China, India, Singapore, and New Zealand in the year’s second half.
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