VietJet Air (Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company) (VietJetAir.com) (Hanoi) will launch scheduled passenger operations on December 25 between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Previously the upstart signed a contract to lease three Airbus A320s from Alafco Aviation (Kuwait).

VietJet Air is the first private airline in Vietnam to be approved for operations. Using a low-cost model, the company was granted its initial approval to operate by the Vietnamese Minister of Finance in November 2007 but due to various logistical and legal complications, the airline could not begin operating flights until this month. AirAsia (Kuala Lumpur) announced in February 2010 that it planned to purchase a 30 percent share in the airline through a joint venture agreement, but withdrew its assistance in October 2011, citing the continued problems in the certification process.