AirAsia Vietnam eyes late 3Q19 for launch at the earliest

KiteAir's application moves to Vietnamese PM's office

AirAsia Group seeks partners in Cambodia, China, Myanmar

After a brief halt, AirAsia Group has resumed its overtures to partners in Cambodia, China, and Myanmar as it seeks to found new franchise units in these countries. However, it has abandoned plans to launch a unit in Viet Nam, Group Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes told Nikkei in an interview.

Fernandes added that the airline was prioritising the lookout for a partner in Cambodia. Technically, Cambodia does not have foreign ownership limits on airlines and AirAsia Group could establish a unit in this country without a local partner.

Plans for a Chinese unit were more of a long-term idea, but Fernandes underlined that AirAsia needed to "stay relevant" in the country.

The low-cost group pulled the plug on new foreign ventures earlier this year, at that time saying that it would halt the establishment of new units for three years. In early 2018, it was reported to be in talks with now-defunct FMI Air (ND, Yangon) regarding the establishment of a Myanmarese unit. Plans to launch AirAsia Cambodia (Phnom Penh)...

Vietnam's Hai Au parent registers new $43mn aviation company

Viet Nam's Hai Au Aviation to launch coastal air taxis

Hai Au Aviation (HAI, Hanoi) will launch scheduled air taxi flights between Hue Phu Bai Int'l and Da Nang on Viet Nam's central coast on April 25, 2019.

According to the carrier's website, flights will operate daily with Cessna (single turboprop) 208EX Grand Caravan seaplanes.

The carrier also operates scheduled daily flights between Hanoi and Ha Long Bay via Haiphong and Tuan Chau Island in northern Viet Nam, as well as scenic and charter flights.

Hai Au Aviation was due to become AirAsia Group's partner in setting up AirAsia Vietnam (Da Nang), a project that was recently dropped.

According to the ch-aviation capacity module, there are no other airlines offering scheduled flights between Hue and Da Nang, two of Viet Nam's most popular tourist destinations. Overland transfer between the cities takes about two hours.