Sun PhuQuoc Airways—Vietnam’s newest hybrid carrier—announced late on 26 June that it has launched twice-weekly services from Phu Quoc and Ho Chi Minh City to Chengdu Tianfu International Airport. The expansion marks the airline’s first foray into Western China and reflects a broader rebound in Southeast Asia–China leisure and SME business travel. Each route will be operated with 186-seat Airbus A321neos configured in a dual-class layout. The afternoon arrivals into Chengdu allow same-day connections on Sichuan Airlines and China Express to secondary cities such as Leshan, Luzhou and Nanchong—destinations popular with Vietnamese textile suppliers and electronics traders. Conversely, residents of Sichuan can now access Vietnam’s visa-free beach island of Phu Quoc in around four hours, a convenience local tour operators expect to sell heavily during China’s peak summer travel season.
![Vietnam’s Sun PhuQuoc Airways opens two Chengdu routes, signalling rising demand for inbound travel to Western China]()
To navigate any additional visa formalities—for example, onward travel beyond Phu Quoc’s exemption or multi-entry business trips—passengers can turn to VisaHQ, whose China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) offers real-time requirements, document concierge services, and expedited filing options that save both leisure travelers and SME mobility managers precious time.
For Chinese regional development planners the flights are strategically valuable. Tianfu airport opened only in 2024 with an ambition to become Southwest China’s second international mega-hub after Chongqing; winning a foreign carrier so early supports that positioning. The service also strengthens economic links ahead of the launch of the China–ASEAN Free Trade Area Version 3.0, which is due to include simplified work-visa quotas for ASEAN nationals engaged in services trade. Mobility managers with manufacturing operations in both countries should note that Sun PhuQuoc Airways will interline baggage with partner China Eastern, enabling through-check from Chengdu to Shanghai and onward points in the MU network. Corporate fares under negotiation are reportedly 10–15 per cent below incumbents, reflecting the carrier’s low-cost DNA. Airport authorities in Chengdu are offering the airline a 50 per cent landing-fee rebate for the first 12 months. If load factors exceed 70 per cent, frequencies could rise to four weekly by Lunar New Year 2027, further deepening Vietnam–Sichuan connectivity.
To navigate any additional visa formalities—for example, onward travel beyond Phu Quoc’s exemption or multi-entry business trips—passengers can turn to VisaHQ, whose China portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) offers real-time requirements, document concierge services, and expedited filing options that save both leisure travelers and SME mobility managers precious time.
For Chinese regional development planners the flights are strategically valuable. Tianfu airport opened only in 2024 with an ambition to become Southwest China’s second international mega-hub after Chongqing; winning a foreign carrier so early supports that positioning. The service also strengthens economic links ahead of the launch of the China–ASEAN Free Trade Area Version 3.0, which is due to include simplified work-visa quotas for ASEAN nationals engaged in services trade. Mobility managers with manufacturing operations in both countries should note that Sun PhuQuoc Airways will interline baggage with partner China Eastern, enabling through-check from Chengdu to Shanghai and onward points in the MU network. Corporate fares under negotiation are reportedly 10–15 per cent below incumbents, reflecting the carrier’s low-cost DNA. Airport authorities in Chengdu are offering the airline a 50 per cent landing-fee rebate for the first 12 months. If load factors exceed 70 per cent, frequencies could rise to four weekly by Lunar New Year 2027, further deepening Vietnam–Sichuan connectivity.
