Thai VietJet adds 7th 737-MAX in less than a month, first routes announced

Introduction

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about Thai VietJet Air quietly taking delivery of its first Boeing 737-MAX 8, the first of 50 the airline has on order. Since then, the airline has been expanding rapidly, as of yesterday taking delivery of HS-VZH, its 7th 737MAX in less than a month, with 2 more expected before the end of the year. This means that in less than 6 weeks the airline will expand its fleet by 50% with the addition of these 9 new aircraft.

The airline has also since successfully operated its demo flights for the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, this has to be done as the 737-MAX 8 is a new aircraft type coming to Thai airlines, with Thai VietJet being the first Thai operator of the type. Although competitor Thai Lion Air, briefly operated the larger 737-MAX 9 in the past, prior to the global MAX grounds, however those aircraft have since gone to Indonesian Lion Air instead. This means that the carrier has now put the 737-MAX 8 on its passenger schedules, with the first flight expected to be on Christmas eve.

HS-VZH is Thai VietJet's 7th 737-MAX in less than a month, arriving in Bangkok on December 20th, from Seattle flying via Anchorage and Sapporo

The details

The airline is expected to start 737-MAX services on Christmas eve, with the first flight expected to be VZ2102 from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. Over the coming weeks, VZ is expected to launch the 737-MAX on 7 of its domestic routes, varying frequencies depending on the route. These routes will be;

Bangkok to Chiang Mai (eff 24DEC25)

Bangkok to Chiang Rai (eff 27DEC25)

Bangkok to Hat Yai (eff 27DEC25)

Bangkok to Krabi (eff 26DEC25)

Bangkok to Phuket (eff 24DEC25)

Bangkok to Surat Thani (eff 27DEC25) Bangkok to Udon Thani (eff 27DEC25)

The 737s will be launched on international services in January, starting off with Bangkok to Cam Ranh from January 29th, followed by Bangkok to Tokyo Narita on February 1st and Bangkok to Osaka Kansai on February 3rd.

The cabin of Thai VietJet's 737MAX

These MAXs are expected to feature 189 economy class seats, although Thai VietJet has said that the first 11 aircraft of the 50 it has on order will not feature in-seat power, which is a shame. They have mentioned that from the 12th aircraft onwards, in-seat power will be installed.

The airline has also previously stated that it plans to install streaming in-flight entertainment onboard the 737s, although the timeline of this is still unclear.

The airline recently held a Buddhist Blessing ceremony for its first 4 737-MAXs

This is a common practice amonst Thai airlines, as all new aircraft for every Thai airline are usually blessed by monks

Conclusion

Thai VietJet has rapidly taken delivery of its 737-MAXs with 9 expected by the end of the year. We will soon see these planes on a majority of the airline's domestic destinations and a selection of its international routes. Overall, these marks a step forward for the airline as it plans to phase out its ageing 2nd hand Airbus fleet in favour of these brand new 737s, certainly a very exciting time for the relatively young carrier.