Vietnam Airlines cancels flights to Phuket; inaugural flight to Phuket deferred

 Report, photo copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Due to the continuing closure of the Strait of Hormuz that has stopped supplies of oil to Asia and surges in the price of fuel, Vietnam Airlines has decided to cancel its planned flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Phuket. The intended inaugural flight to Phuket from Ho Chi Minh on 2 July 2026 (after postponing from 2 April 2026) has been deferred until further notice.

Vietnam Airlines has recently informed the public that domestic flights in Vietnam will have either to be reduced or suspended because of Vietnam's low stockpile of oil as a result of Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz. 

Vietnam does not buy oil from Iran and the U.S.

T'way Air cancels Jeju flight to Changi, reduces Incheon flight frequency to Changi

 Report, photo copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

South Korean airline T'way Air has revealed that it is cancelling scheduled 737 MAX 8 flights from Jeju to Changi for one month from 2 July 2026 to 2 August 2026.

Furthermore, between 28 June 2026 and 22 July 20256, T'way Air's A330-300 will operate three weekly flights, instead of daily flights.

The route reduction and suspension are due to the increasing cost of aviation fuel that have eroded the airline's earnings from the exorbitant passenger flights.

Prior to the above adjustments, T'way Air's Jeju and Incheon flights are popular with Singaporeans and Koreans.

Ethiopian Airlines connects Hanoi with Suvarnabhumi from 30 March 2026

 Report, photo copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Since 30 March 2026, Ethiopian Airlines has connected Hanoi with Suvarnabhumi with its 787-9 Dreamliner. Hanoi is linked to Dhaka before 30 March 2026 while Ethiopian Airlines maintains its non-stop schedule to Dhaka from Addis Ababa under flight ET680.

According to schedules, Ethiopian Airlines flight ET608 departs from Suvarnabhumi for Hanoi at 1 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, touches down in Hanoi at 2.30 pm before leaving Hanoi for Suvarnabhumi at night at 11.20 pm and arriving in Suvarnabhumi on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 12.50 am under flight ET609.

Ethiopian Airlines' Suvarnabhumi-Hanoi flight is an extension of its route from Addis Ababa to Suvarnabhumi with flight ET608 leaving Addis Ababa on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays for Suvaranbhumi at 10.40 pm local time and landing in Suvarnabhumi at 12 pm.  On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, flight ET609 takes off from Suvarnabhumi for Addis Ababa at 1.55 am and touches down in Addis Ababa at 6.05 am.

Of note, flight ET608/ET609 is previously the return flight code for Ethiopian Airlines' Addis Ababa=Suvarnabhumi=Hong Kong route sectors.

Nowadays, Ethiopian Airlines flies non-stop from Addis Ababa to Hong Kong before flying onward to Manila under flight ET644, that is scheduled to depart from Addis Ababa for Hong Kong at 11.45 pm and arrive in Hong Kong at 2.55 pm on the next day.

At 12.25 am, flight ET645 takes off from Hong Kong for Addis Ababa at 12.25 am and lands on Addis Ababa at 6.15 am.

Flights to Hong Kong from Addis Ababa are operated daily.

Vietjet Air leases 10 more C909 aircraft, plans route expansion to Enshi, Guilin

 Report, photo copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Vietjet Air announces on 23 April 2026 that it has signed a finance lease agreement with SPDB Financial Leasing for 10 Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) C909 narrow-body passenger aircraft.

Vietjet Air did not disclose the specific financial terms of the agreement, which will enable it to expand its C909 flight operations. Previously, Vietjet Air had already partnered with Chengdu Airlines to operate two C909 aircraft on domestic routes to Con Dao through a wet leasing arrangement.

Vietjet Air stated that this agreement will allow COMAC-manufactured aircraft to operate on Vietnam-China routes.

Vietjet Air is preparing to launch five new routes to China, connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with Chinese cities such as Hangzhou, Enshi, Guilin and Huangshan.

Vietjet Air currently operates a fleet of 135 aircraft, mostly Airbus models, and has ordered nearly 600 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, including narrow-body and wide-body aircraft.

Bangkok Airways reduces flights to Changi, suspends flights to Male

 Report, photo copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Bangkok Airways has amended its summer flight schedules to Changi and Male. 

Instead of suspending flights to Changi from July 2026, Bangkok Airways is reducing its flight frequency to the Singapore airport from Samui from 17 flights a week to 14 weekly flights.

Previously, Bangkok Airways announced it was suspending flights to Changi from 1 July 2026 to 30 September 2026.

As for its flights from Suvarnabhumi to Male, the capital of the Maldives, Bangkok Airways is withdrawing its four weekly flights to Male from 8 May 2026 till 30 September 2026.

Bangkok Airways is also reducing domestic flights to Krabi and Phuket from Samui, from Suvarnabhumi to Trat and Phuket and from Utapao to Phuket.

Recently, many Asian airlines have either reduced flight frequencies within Asia or suspended flights due to the continuous surge in fuel prices and fuel scarcity as a result of the closure of the Straits of Hormuz. 

Both Iran and the U.S. have blocked the Straits of Hormuz to commercial vessels delivering oil to the rest of the world and experts have warned that if the situation continued with no peace agreement signed between both countries, many airlines in the world may be forced to reduce their operation scales or close down operations.

Hunnu Air considers leasing A321LR and A330-200

 Report, photo copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Hunnu Air, Mongolia's largest private airline, is considering leasing two Airbus A321LRs and two A330-200s to pave the way for route expansion into Europe from Chinggis Khaan Airport in Khoshig Valley, Mongolia.

The A321LRs are target for delivery from late 2027 through the first quarter of 2028 while the A330-200s are slated to enter commercial service in the first quarter of 2028.

These aircraft will enable Hunnu Air to launch scheduled flights to Berlin and Budapest.

Hunnu Air's Commercial Director Turbold Tserenkhuu said that final decisions had not been made regarding leases. Any fleet addition would subject to considerations like market demand, financial sustainability and broader strategic priorities. 

Earlier in February 2026, Tserenkhuu revealed that the airline was studying the addition of two A320ceo jets in late 2027 or early 2028 to increase the number of seats available to meet market demand.

Hunnu Air is pursuing aircraft wet-lease partnerships to manage seasonal demand. Currently, it owns two E195-E2 aircraft and two E190-E2 aircraft for international scheduled and charter flights beside Cessna C208s for its domestic charter flights. 

The airline flies regularly to Almaty, Beijing Daxing, Erenhot, Enshi, Ordos, Sanya, Ulan-Ude, Moron and Olgii as well as charter flights to Camranh, Phuquoc, Haikou, Tunxi, Delhi, Dubai and Manila. It aims to launch scheduled flights to Delhi, Tashkent, Phuquoc and Manila in the future with its E195-E2 aircraft.

Inflight Pictures : Qingdao Airlines A321neo from 2025 to 18 April 2026

 Photo copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Inflight Pictures : Scoot A321neo

Photo copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Photo IV. Does anyone need to plug in the toilet of the A321neo to wash hands and face?

Inflight Pictures : Flying to Phuket, landing in Phuket

 Photo copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Fuel costs rise, leading to widespread cancellations of flights from China to Southeast Asia

 Report, photo copyright by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

With the May Day holiday approaching in mainland China, many tourists planning to travel abroad are complaining on social media about the widespread cancellations of flights to Southeast Asia. It is understood that this is due to the recent surge in international oil prices caused by the Middle East conflict.

Recently, many Chinese netizens posted on social media that their flights to Southeast Asia and Australia during and around the May Day holiday were cancelled. One netizen wrote, "My AirAsia ticket from Shanghai to Bangkok for May Day was cancelled." Another said, "My flight to Vietnam for May Day was cancelled. I carefully selected the flight two months in advance so I wouldn't have to take time off work, and it was cancelled without warning. Although I can get a full refund, direct flights during the same period have already skyrocketed to 5,000 RMB." Another wrote, "My tickets from May 1st to 5th were all cancelled, and my hotel is already booked. What am I going to do?" Yet another wrote, "My flight to Kuala Lumpur, originally scheduled for the early morning of the 3rd, was suddenly cancelled and rescheduled to 3.30 am on May 4th. Then the return flight on the same airline is scheduled for 4.30 am. It's outrageous to fly back before even clearing customs..."

Image : Screenshot from the internet

According to multiple mainland media reports, data from the "Flight Manager" platform shows that from 1 to 12 April 2026, several routes from China to Southeast Asia have had all flights cancelled, including Xianyang-Phuket, Chongqing-Phuket, Yantai-Suvarnabhumi, Ordos-Vientiane, Pudong-Tawau, Xiamen-Vientiane, Nanjing-Techo, and Hohhot-Suvarnabhumi.

Regarding flights from China to Australia, the cancellation rate for Guangzhou-Darwin flights is 83.3%, Hangzhou-Auckland flights is 57.1%, and Wuhan-Sydney flights is 50%.

On 7 April 2026, Air China issued a notice canceling its Chengdu Tianfu-KLIA flights from that day until 30 June 2026.

AirAsia X recently announced that it will suspend its Don Mueang-Pudong route from 17 April 2026 until the end of the season.

Thai AirAsia has suspended its Xi'an Xianyang-Don Mueang flight service after 11 May 2026.

On 11 April 2026, Cathay Pacific announced that due to the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, which have negatively impacted aviation fuel prices, it will consolidate a small number of passenger flights operating between 16 May 2026 and 30 June 2026 to alleviate some of the cost pressure. HK Express will also consolidate a small number of flights during the same period.

In addition, while Chinese airlines such as Spring Airlines, China Eastern and China Southern Airlines have not issued overall flight cancellation announcements, they have also cancelled some flights, including those to Southeast Asia during the May Day holiday, through system cancellations, customer service notifications, and agent notifications.

The report states that this concentrated flight adjustment is not a temporary measure by individual airlines, but rather a collective response from the industry to the surge in global aviation fuel prices and increased cost pressures.