Vietjet has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Swift247, a technology start-up providing super express air delivery service, and popular application Grab covering what it says is a "comprehensive cooperation" to develop solutions for connecting road and air travel to customers across Southeast Asia. At the same time it will provide super express delivery services in the Vietnamese market.
The strategic partnership allows Vietjet and Grab to leverage on technological advantages to develop low-cost solutions for road and air mobility. The two parties say they will focus on research and development of the digital platform integration between the two companies to increase convenience for consumers and aim to expand the cooperation not only in Vietnam but also Southeast Asian markets.
With technological solutions of Swift247, Grab and Vietjet will be able to connect air flights with road transportation to establish an express delivery service. In the first phase, Swift247 customers will be able to deliver the goods within five hours between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City via the GrabExpress delivery services on the Grab platform, facilitated by Vietjet aircraft.
The airline says customers will be able to track the delivery process on the website and Swift247 app. In the future, the parties plan to integrate Swift247 services into the Grab open platform to further enhance the convenience and accessibility of its services.
It is clear that with Vietjet's wide network that comprises more than 400 daily flights covering local and international destinations and Grab's extensive driver partners and users base, customers will be able to take advantage of a more convenient and reliable delivery service, supported by technology.
Speaking at the official signing ceremony this week , Vietjet president and CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong said he believes that this partnership will "bring in new changes in local delivery market," and "create unique experience to consumers, and able to meet increasing demand for good delivery services". He noted that this represented a new step on the path to Vietjet becoming a "consumer airline", providing "all kinds of services that consumers of Vietjet need".
"We are witnessing a partnership between an airline with the largest number of domestic passengers in Vietnam with an e-hailing app with the most extensive driver partner fleets in Southeast Asia and a next generation start-up," he explained.
After launching flights in late 2011, Vietjet Air has become firmly established as Vietnam's second largest carrier, rivalling its flag carrier Vietnam Airlines. Analysis by CAPA - Centre for Aviation of OAG schedule data shows it has a 35.9% share of domestic and 13.8% share of international capacity (based on data for the week commencing 05-Aug-2019). It also holds a minority share in Thai Vietjet Air, a low-cost carrier based at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International airport, which commenced flights in Mar-2015.
CHART - Vietjet Air's annual system capacity grew beyond 20 million seats last year and is expected to exceed 25 million for the current year, based on published schedules
Source: CAPA - Centre for Aviation and OAG