Sun PhuQuoc Airways adds Hong Kong — twice-daily Phu Quoc and daily Hanoi

Sun PhuQuoc Airways (SPA / 9G) is the new Vietnamese full-service carrier from Sun Group, and it has moved quickly onto Hong Kong. The Phu Quoc link has been running since 22 May 2026 and went twice daily from 5 October; a daily Hanoi service followed on 30 September. For anyone who still thinks of Vietnam–Hong Kong as Vietnam Airlines, VietJet, or the Hong Kong carriers only, there is now another metal to check.

I have a soft spot for Vietnam, and Phu Quoc in particular. I flew VietJet both ways between Hong Kong and the island in 2019 (outbound and return), stayed at Shells Resort and Spa, and later spent a couple of days in Da Nang (48 hours plus the 4 Points by Sheraton). SPA is a different animal from those LCC hops: leisure full-service, meals and a checked bag in the fare, wireless IFE, a Business cabin, and Sun Group’s own lounge/FF ecosystem behind it.

Who they are, briefly

SPA was set up by Sun Group on 21 January 2025, took its AOC on 25 September 2025, and flew its first commercial sector on 1 November 2025. Codes are IATA 9G, ICAO SPQ, callsign SUN LUX. The network is built around Phu Quoc as the leisure hub, with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as city gateways, and a growing short-haul international list (Taipei, Seoul, Singapore, Bangkok, Chengdu, Kuala Lumpur and now Hong Kong among them). The Hong Kong sectors are listed on Airbus A321neo; the airline is also adding A330s for longer work later in 2026.

Phu Quoc – Hong Kong (from 5 Oct: 2× daily)

Launch was 22 May 2026 on five weekly rotations; from 5 October the schedule is two round-trips a day on A321neo:

9G502: PQC 11:55 → HKG 15:45
9G504: PQC 15:30 → HKG 19:20
9G501: HKG 16:45 → PQC 18:35
9G503: HKG 20:20 → PQC 22:10

Block time is about 2 hours 50 minutes each way (Vietnam is UTC+7, Hong Kong UTC+8 — the clock difference looks longer than the real block). The late afternoon HKG departure (9G503) is the one that gets you onto the island for a late check-in; the morning PQC departure (9G502) is the cleaner day-trip / connection option into Hong Kong.

Hanoi – Hong Kong (from 30 Sep: 1× daily)

9G530: HAN 09:20 → HKG 12:05
9G531: HKG 13:05 → HAN 14:00

One daily turn on a tidy midday bank at Chek Lap Kok. Outbound from Hanoi leaves mid-morning and is into Hong Kong for lunch; the return leaves HKG early afternoon and is back at Noi Bai mid-afternoon local time. For the first four days (30 Sep–3 Oct) SPA was quoting a launch fare from 1.526.000 VND one-way taxes included — that window has closed, so treat it as history rather than a price to chase.

How this sits against other Vietnam–HKG flying

Vietnam Airlines still covers Hanoi and Saigon on its own metal; VietJet remains the usual low-cost option on Saigon and a thinner Phu Quoc schedule; Hong Kong Express, Cathay and Hong Kong Airlines handle a lot of the short-haul Vietnam traffic from the Hong Kong side (Da Nang in particular is thick with UO/HX). Bamboo’s scheduled flying has wound down, so they are not part of the current picture. SPA’s angle is the full-service leisure product and, on Phu Quoc, a double-daily frequency that is denser than what VietJet has typically put on that island route from HKG.

Product notes (and Da Nang later)

On the Hong Kong sectors SPA is selling a full-service fare with hot meal and 23 kg checked bag included, plus wireless IFE. Business passengers get the usual priority bits and the Sun Executive Lounge where available. Eligible international arrivals into Vietnam have also been offered a free 5GB eSIM under their “Touch Vietnam” programme — nice if it is still running when you fly, not something to build a booking around.

SPA has also floated a Hong Kong–Da Nang route later this year, with talk of a high daily frequency. That is still planned rather than a locked schedule, so I am not putting flight numbers on it. If it lands, it will sit next to the existing UO/HX Da Nang flying rather than replace it.

A few practical notes if you book

Confirm live times and aircraft on sunphuquocairways.com — new carriers shift banks more than established ones. Compare the all-in fare against VietJet and HK Express on Phu Quoc, and against Vietnam Airlines / Cathay / HK Express on Hanoi, before assuming full-service is automatically more expensive. If Phu Quoc is the goal, the Shells review linked above is still the stay I remember fondly from 2019; I have not yet flown SPA myself.

Overall, a proper new Vietnamese flag on the HKG board: double-daily Phu Quoc, daily Hanoi, A321neo, and a leisure full-service product instead of another bare LCC seat. I will keep an eye on how the loads settle — and whether that Da Nang plan turns into real flight numbers before year-end.

Sources: AeroRoutes — Oct 2026 PQC–HKG 2× daily, Sun Group — PQC–HKG launch 22 May 2026, Sun Group — HAN–HKG launch 30 Sep 2026, VNA — HAN launch + Da Nang plans, The Standard — daily Hanoi–Hong Kong, SPA — AOC 25 Sep 2025.