HANOI, Aug 18 (Bernama-VNS/VNA) — Vietnam has overtaken Thailand to become Southeast Asia’s second-largest commercial aviation market by available seat capacity in August, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported, citing OAG, a global provider of aviation data and analytics.
Vietnam moved into second place with 7.3 million seats, up 10 per cent from a year earlier, the fastest growth rate among the Southeast Asian aviation markets analysed by OAG.
The increase reflected rising travel demand in Vietnam, as well as the advantage of having several major airports serving passengers nationwide, OAG said.
Another factor highlighted by OAG was cooperation between Vietnamese tourism businesses and airlines. Tour operators often booked large blocks of seats and conducted joint promotional and marketing campaigns, helping airlines fill flights more quickly.
The development of new destinations was also creating more room for Vietnam’s international air network to expand.
In its August Southeast Asia Aviation Market Briefing, OAG said Indonesia remained the region’s largest aviation market, with 11 million seats, up 4.3 per cent year on year. Thailand ranked third with 7.2 million seats, down 1.7 per cent year on year.
Capacity also declined in Malaysia and the Philippines, which recorded 5.4 million and 4.8 million seats, down 6.4 per cent and 5.7 per cent, respectively.
— BERNAMA-VNA