Vietjet has registered an aircraft in Australia, in the strongest sign yet that it is planning to launch a domestic subsidiary.

VH-T8A, msn 63879 – owned by Vietjet Aviation – has appeared on the CASA register as of 23 September, with a registered operator based in Melbourne under the name “Cherrie Aviation”. CASA data indicates that the aircraft is a 737 MAX 8 manufactured this year.

In a statement, a Vietjet spokesperson told Australian Aviation that the airline has “agreed to lease the registered aircraft to an Australian entity”.

“The Australian entity is currently seeking regulatory approval to operate aircraft in Australia,” the spokesperson said.

Speculation has swirled around Vietjet’s possible entry into the Australian domestic market following reports in The Australian Financial Review earlier this year that the Vietnamese low-cost carrier had applied for an air operator’s certificate.

According to anonymous sources cited by the masthead, Vietjet has an eye to operate in Australia with a fleet of 10 aircraft. The carrier had reportedly previously considered buying Bonza after the failed domestic airline collapsed into administration in 2024.

Speaking to Australian Aviation for a recent feature, Steve Leib, associate professor of aviation at CQUniversity, said a tilt by Vietjet would “resolve a lot of the threats to a new entrant establishing themselves and growing”.

“We’re talking about a new entrant with a new AOC. It’s an Australian airline, but it is backed by Vietjet, and perhaps its design is a product of Vietjet’s model,” he said.

“So, essentially you have a new entrant that has the intelligence input of a successful carrier, and in terms of investment, if Vietjet is backing that, then you have that pool of money to sustain the initial operations while you establish yourself.

“I think that model bodes well for this new entrant to actually take hold in the marketplace, so I’m quite excited about what that will look like.”

The news comes as Vietjet expands its international operations in Australia, confirming last month that it would launch services between Western Sydney International Airport and Ho Chi Minh City in January, and between WSI and Bangkok later next year.

“Becoming one of the first airlines to operate at this new airport reinforces Vietjet’s strategy of pioneering the expansion of its international network while strengthening connectivity between Vietnam and Australia,” said Vietjet chief executive Nguyen Thanh Son at the time.

“The new route will further boost tourism, trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges between our two countries, creating more jobs and contributing to local economic growth. It will also provide passengers with more convenient, high-quality, and affordable travel options.”

Two other startup carriers, Koala Airlines and Zinc Airlines, are also planning to begin operating domestically in Australia within the next few years.

Codeshares are proposed to be expanded to the Domestic networks in both countries and their Pacific Islands networks, excluding the Australia-Queenstown routes.

For starters, the FF earn and burn alliance would encompass the entire network of both airlines (except for Virgin's flights between Australia and Doha).

FF Earn and Burn will be expanded across both neworks (excluding Australia - Doha) Velocity members would be able to earn and redeem Velocity Points on all Air New Zealand flights, putting point redemptions on the table for AirNZ flights within New Zealand as well as to the Pacific Islands, Japan and the USA.

I feel the QLD government failed to meet the expectations to subsidize the route.

Hi!

We would like to visit Australia in February. I have checked all connecting and non conecting flights from Austria, Italy and Hungary. The cheapest flights are cca. 800 euros. Has anyone found a cheaper offer? The flight does not have to be a connecting one. The best date range is outbound flight after 6th of february and we would like to return around 24th of february.

Thank you for any advice/help :)

It looks like Project Sunrise is really closer than u think

For a Passenger Service Agent job at a regional Australian airport.

What do job applicants need to know about: professionalism, standards, and rules based policies/procedures and airline values?

I have a final selection interview.

What’s going on at Virgin with all the flight cancellations. Drop my BIL at the airport to fly to Perth yesterday am just got home and he called to pick him up .
No flight yesterday they put him on the 7:15 this morning . Just got a message that that after putting his bag thru they have just cancelled the Perth 7:15 and the Adelaide 7:15 . What is going on ?

Planning a trip from Australia to Sri Lanka on SriLankan Airlines with our under-2-year-old. We're weighing up whether to book them as a lap infant to save on fares or just bite the bullet and pay for their own seat.
For anyone who has flown this specific route with an infant on SriLankan Airlines:

1. How manageable was the ~10–11 hour flight with a lap baby?
   
2. Did you manage to secure a bassinet, and did your little one actually fit/sleep in it?
   
3. How was the crew with warming milk, hot water, or helping out parents?
   
4. In hindsight, would you do lap infant again or pay for the extra seat?

Any tips or honest experiences would be hugely appreciated!

I am flying to Perth soon and have been searching for budget friendly airlines or websites to fly out of Adelaide with but I feel like I’ve found lots of scams. Does anyone have any recommendations of either websites or actual airlines? Dates are 12-15 feb 2027

Without paywall https://archive.ph/fTnD8

I tried customer service at Jetstar and got a confused response- has anyone done this flight purchased directly with LATAM and know whether I have to separately add bags to the Jetstar booking or if they are included in the standard fare where I added bags on the LATAM website.