Viet Nam's Jetstar Pacific applies for new business licence

The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) has suspended 27 pilots from Pakistan employed at Vietnamese carriers, a few days after PIA - Pakistan International Airlines grounded 150 of its 426 pilots on suspicions that they held fake licences.

Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Pakistan's aviation minister, later told his country's parliament that an investigation found that 262 out of 860 active pilots in the country "did not take the exam themselves" and had paid someone else to sit it on their behalf.

Foreign pilots recruited to work in Vietnam typically transfer the licence from the country where they were trained to a Vietnamese licence, requiring a CAAV testing procedure, the authority's general director, Đinh Việt Thắng, told the Vietnam News Agency.

"All of the suspended pilots are of Pakistani nationality and licensed in the country. These pilots are working at several airlines in Vietnam," he said. "The CAAV is currently awaiting the results of a review from the Pakistani aviation authorities to determine whether the pilots have used a fake licence or not."

Those who have...

Jetstar Asia Airways (3K, Singapore Changi) has announced that it will permanently retire five of its A320-200s, thus reducing its fleet to 13 units of the type.

According to the ch-aviation fleets ownership module, Jetstar Asia Airways owns eight of its A320-200s and leases the remaining ten, including four from BOC Aviation, one each from DAE Capital, AerCap, and Macquarie AirFinance, and three from unknown lessors.

The Singaporean low-cost carrier will also reduce its headcount by 26%, letting up to 180 staff members go. A furlough affecting the majority of the employees will be extended through the end of 2020.

"Singapore and Singapore Changi Changi Airport remain a strategic footprint for Jetstar Asia and the Qantas Group, and we look forward to growing passenger numbers further through innovation and enhancing the customer experience in the future," Chief Executive Bara Pasupathi said.

The LCC announced the fleet and job cuts as a part of parent Qantas Group's post-COVID recovery strategy, which said it would be grounding up...

Vietnam Airlines (VN, Hanoi) has said it will ask the Vietnamese government for a loan of between VND4-12 trillion dong (USD172-515 million) to solve short-term cash-flow problems. Otherwise, it could run out of money in the coming weeks, local media reported.

The flag carrier's coffers could be empty by August, after which it could fall into a "really bad" situation, Tran Thanh Hien, the carrier's finance director, revealed at a forum on June 12.

"We are not asking for an investment, we will pay back this sum," Hien insisted.

Vietnam Airlines also plans to drum up capital by issuing more shares to existing shareholders, he said, but this could take five to six months.

The government currently owns an 86.1% stake in the carrier, though it has said it plans to reduce its ownership to 51%. The airline anticipates a loss of VND15-16 trillion (USD644-687 million) this year, Hien said.

The fleet was grounded from late March to late April, but the carrier still faced some airport and maintenance fees as well as...