24.03.2021 - 09:39 UTC
Vietravel Airlines (VU, Hue Phu Bai Int'l) is considering entering the cargo market with in-house dedicated freighters, building on the success of its current charter agreement with My Indo Airlines (2Y, Jakarta Halim) covering services between Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Cargo Facts has reported.
The Vietnamese start-up launched on January 14, 2021, and currently operates three A321-200s on an exclusively domestic network within Vietnam. It is owned by tour operator Vietravel and intends to focus on the leisure market going forward, including through charter services.
Even though the Vietnamese market is among the world leaders in terms of recovery, thanks to strong domestic demand and lack of opportunities for foreign travel, the carrier has elected to tap into the booming cargo market as well. Since March 10, it has been chartering a B737-300(F) from My Indo Airlines for 2x weekly cargo services between the capitals of Viet Nam and Thailand.
Vietravel Airlines indicated that its potential decision regarding adding in-house freighter aircraft could be made...
29.12.2020 - 01:13 UTC
Vietravel Airlines (VU, Hue Phu Bai Int'l) will commence scheduled flight operations in early 2021 after it completed its certification procedures with the Vietnamese government on December 24, Vu Duc Bien, the General Director of Vietravel Airlines, has said.
In a statement, the start-up said it had now officially received its Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) along with operator's licence (OL) and route authorities. As such, its first commercial flight took place on December 26 with a one-off Hanoi-Hue Phu Bai Int'l-Ho Chi Minh City service.
Ticket sales for its first scheduled flight, set for January 1, 2021, will open this week, Vu added without disclosing which routes will go on offer.
Vietravel Airlines' fleet currently consists of a single A321-200 although two more are now expected in-country by mid-January 2021.
08.12.2020 - 00:53 UTC
Vietravel Airlines (VU, Hue Phu Bai Int'l) took delivery of its first aircraft, an A321-200, following the arrival of VN-A278 (msn 6376) at Ho Chi Minh City on December 4.
Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows the six-year-old ex-Thomas Cook Airlines UK narrowbody jet was ferried to Southeast Asia from Shannon via Cairo Int'l and Muscat under its previous registration, OE-IDP.
Vietravel Airlines is in the final stages of its AOC certification drive with the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV). Past reports have indicated it will launch with one A321-200N and two A321-200s.
Nguyen Quoc Ky, the Chairman of Vietravel Airlines, told the Saigon Times last week that its second aircraft will arrive later this coming week with the third due by month-end. Once its AOC has been awarded, Vietravel Airlines expects to launch domestic flights around December 19 to 27.
It plans to operate more than 80 flights per week, concentrating on connecting Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, and Hanoi with tourist destinations such...
04.12.2020 - 17:04 UTC
VietJetAir (VJ, Hanoi) has asked the government to encourage commercial banks to offer it soft loans of VND4 trillion dong (USD173 million), for which it would pay the principal and interest in 2023-2025, local media reported.
Speaking at a seminar titled “Overcoming crisis, developing Vietnam’s aviation sustainably”, the carrier’s chief financial officer, Ngọc Yến Phương Hồ, revealed that the company had incurred substantial losses over the last nine months, forcing it to sell assets, slash wages by 50% to 70%, and pay minimum salaries of VND8-10 million (USD350-430) to many staff.
Airlines in other countries, such as Thailand and China, have been offered financial support, she argued, and once Vietnam resumes international flights, they will be in a position to compete fiercely with local airlines. Vietnam’s carriers will continue to experience liquidity difficulties in the next two to three years, she added.
Last month, the National Assembly of Vietnam approved a VND12 trillion (USD520 million) bailout for majority state-owned Vietnam Airlines (VN, Hanoi), including low-interest loans worth VND4 trillion.
At the...
