The airline saw revenue surging 25% year-on-year to VND28.27 trillion.
It recorded a major income of VND3.63 trillion from its subsidiary Pacific Airlines as the carrier had returned all of its jets to leasers and no longer had a debt obligation against them.
Vietnam Airlines said that increasing travel demand, especially during the Lunar New Year Tet holiday in early February, has improved its earnings.
The recovery of international flights also contributed to the high profits. International flights accounted for 65% of the carrier’s revenue in the period.
The first quarter profit of Vietnam Airlines exceeded that of 2019 total by 33%.
The state-owned carrier, however, still recorded an accumulated loss of VND36.7 trillion by the end of March, down 10.5% from the beginning of the year.
Its competitors recorded strong figures in the first three months.
Vietjet posted a profit of VND540 billion, up 212% year-on-year, while revenue jumped 38% to VND17.76 trillion.
Vietravel Airlines posted a profit of VND10 billion against a revenue of VND490 billion.