
Cebu Pacific to Suspend Sapporo/Chitose – Manila Route from June 2
Thai Vietjet Air has launched a new route between Tokyo/Narita and Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi. The inaugural flight from Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi departed on February 1, and the first departure from Tokyo/Narita followed on February 2.
The airline operates one round trip per day using a Boeing 737-8 aircraft configured with 189 seats. According to the schedule, flight VZ831 departs Tokyo/Narita at 8:55 a.m., arriving at Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi at 2:30 p.m. Local departure flight VZ830 leaves Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi at 11:55 p.m., arriving at Tokyo/Narita at 7:55 a.m. the following day. The flight time is 7 hours 35 minutes from Tokyo/Narita and 6 hours from Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi.
The company says that by scheduling departures from Bangkok around midnight and arrivals at Narita early in the morning, it can maximize local stay time in Thailand on the return day for passengers departing from Japan, and maximize time in Japan on the arrival day for passengers departing from Thailand.
At the commemorative ceremony held at Narita Airport on February 2, Mr. Pinyot Pibulsonggram, Vice President for Commercial and Customer Service at Thai Vietjet Air, stated, “The launch of this new route will further strengthen the ties between Japan and Thailand and represents a new step forward in our international business development.”
On the Tokyo/Narita–Bangkok route, Thai Airways International, Japan Airlines (JAL), All Nippon Airways (ANA), ZIPAIR Tokyo, and AirJapan operate to and from Suvarnabhumi Airport, while Thai AirAsia X operates to and from Don Mueang Airport. Thai Vietjet Air is the seventh airline to enter this Japan–Thailand market.
In addition, Thai Vietjet Air plans to launch a new route between Osaka/Kansai and Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi on February 3. With this, the airline’s Japan network will total seven routes, including its existing five: Sapporo/Chitose, Osaka/Kansai, and Okinawa/Naha – Taipei/Taoyuan – Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi; Fukuoka – Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi; and Osaka/Kansai – Chiang Mai.
Vietjet Air, the parent company of Thai Vietjet Air, has placed an order for 200 Boeing 737-8 aircraft and plans to allocate up to 50 of them to Thai Vietjet Air. The first aircraft was delivered in November 2025, and nine aircraft have been received so far. The Tokyo/Narita–Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi route was originally scheduled to launch on December 15, 2025, but was postponed due to changes in the introduction schedule of the 737-8 aircraft.
Regarding the 737-8, Mr. Pibulsonggram commented, “It will play an extremely important role in supporting the expansion of our network and achieving sustainable business growth in the Asian region,” expressing his view that the aircraft will contribute to future route expansion and increased frequencies.
■ Timetable
VZ831 Tokyo/Narita (08:55) – Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi (14:30)
VZ830 Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi (23:55) – Tokyo/Narita (07:55+1)