VJ VJC Commenced operations 25 December 2011 Fleet size 38 Founder Nguyen Thanh Ha Headquarters Hanoi, Vietnam | VJC VIETJET Subsidiaries Thai Vietjet Air Destinations 53 Founded November 2007, Vietnam Parent organizations HD Bank, Sovico Holdings | |
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Motto Bay là thích ngay!; English: Enjoy Flying! (Vietnamese) Hubs Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Noi Bai International Airport, Da Nang International Airport, Cat Bi International Airport Profiles | ||
VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Company (Vietnamese: Công ty Cổ phần Hàng không VietJet), trading as VietJet Air or Vietjet, is an international low-cost airline from Vietnam. It was the first privately owned new-age airline to be established in Vietnam, being granted its initial approval to operate by the Vietnamese Minister of Finance in November 2007. As of its launch in December 2011, it became the second private airline to offer domestic service in Vietnam, as well as the fifth airline overall to offer civil domestic flights. VietJet Air is owned by Sovico Holdings, HDBank, other organisational investors and individual stakeholders.
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The carrier's launch was beset by long delays attributed to various causes, such as a global economic slowdown and regulatory issues. Although budget carrier AirAsia announced in February 2010 that it planned to purchase a 30% stake in the airline through a joint venture agreement, the carrier later rescinded its plans, citing "a failure to obtain Vietnamese regulatory approvals". Despite the setbacks, VietJet Air's first flight was operated on 25 December 2011, flying from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. The carrier carried its 10 millionth passenger in December 2014, and the 25 millionth passenger on December 5, 2015.
Foundation delays
The airline has its head office in the Vạn Phúc Diplomatic Corps in Ba Đình, Hanoi It was the first privately owned airline to be established in Vietnam, and as of its launch in December 2011, it became the second private airline (after Air Mekong) to offer domestic service in Vietnam, as well as the fifth airline overall not counting Indochina Airlines, which ceased operations in November 2009 to offer civil domestic flights, after Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific Airlines, Air Mekong and the Vietnam Air Service Company (VASCO). In its initial plan, the Hanoi-based airline stated its intention to offer flights to Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, gradually expanding its network to include other Asian countries, such as Singapore, Thailand, Korea, Taiwan, Myanmar, Malaysia, China and Japan. The airline's president and CEO is Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao from December 2011.
Initially, VietJet had shown the intention to commence flights in late 2008 or early 2009. Throughout the next few years, the expected launch date was repeatedly pushed back, first to late 2009, then mid-2010. Airline officials gave different reasons for the delays, including increased fuel prices and other financial problems. Later news reports from the state-controlled Vietnam News Agency echoed these initial reports, stating that "the airline's four-year delay in takeoff was due to the global economic crisis", referring to the late-2000s global financial crisis.
In February 2010, Southeast Asian low-cost carrier AirAsia announced that it had purchased a 30% stake in the airline. By mid-2010, a date of October 2010 was being given for the maiden flight, with officials stating the additional delay was due to unresolved branding conflicts with the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV).
By February 2011, VietJet was said to be "completing final stages" prior to launch before its operation license expired in June. In March, AirAsia reportedly indicated it might withdraw funding from VietJet if the airline was unable resolve its branding issues before the June deadline. Indeed, in October 2011, AirAsia announced it was calling off its plans to form a joint venture with VietJet, citing "a failure to obtain Vietnamese regulatory approvals", including the permission to use the AirAsia brand in the airline's commercial operations. Despite the collapse of the AirAsia joint venture, VietJet announced in November that its launch plans would proceed.
Start of operations
The airline's maiden flight was eventually launched on 25 December 2011, flying from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi.
The Vietnam aviation authority fined VietJet Air US$960 in 2012 for organizing five women of candidates in a local beauty contest to perform a Hawaiian themed-dance without first gaining permission to celebrate its maiden flight to the tourist hub of Nha Trang.
On 9 February 2013, the airline launch its first international flight between Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok becoming the first Vietnamese private airline to enter the international market.
As a low cost carrier (LCC) Vietjet does not have any direct booking capabilities with the Global Distribution Service (GDS) companies, Amadeus CRS, Sabre, or Travelport. This lack of connectivity limits the ability of the airline to attract interline connecting passengers for inbound and outbound flights. The problem is due in part to the lack of the airline joining Iata's Vietnam BSB which regulates the IATA accredited airlines banking settlement operations in the country. To get around the issue Vietjet has utilised an interline ticketing partner, Hahn Air (HR), which allows for ticketing in more than 194 jurisdictions, but excludes ticketing in Vietnam. In August 2016 Hahn Air announced that they could provide ticketing for domestic Vietnam flights on Vietjet via the Amadeus platform, effectively locking out the other GDS systems for domestic ticketing in Vietnam.
On 11 February 2014, at the opening of that year's Singapore Air Show, the airline firmed up orders with Airbus for 60 A320 aircraft at a list price of $6.4 billion. Previously, the airline had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus for 92 planes in the A320 family.
On 17 June 2015, at the Paris Air Show, Vietjet ordered six additional Airbus A321 single-aisle jets worth $682 million at list prices from Airbus to meet demand on some of its busiest routes. On 10 November 2015 at the Dubai Air Show, Vietjet placed a further order for 30 A321's with Airbus. The deal reportedly includes 21 A321neo's along with 9 A321ceo's. At the same time, the airline confirmed the leased of 10 A319's from Air Berlin Group with delivery from 2016-2017.
On 23 May 2016 during a visit of President Obama, an order for 100 Boeing 737 MAX 200 airplanes was signed with deliveries to start in 2019. On 6 September 2016, CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao announced an order for 20 A321 single aisle aircraft from Airbus. The signing took place during the visit of French President Francois Hollande.
Destinations
VietJet Air serves 23 domestic and 10 international destinations.
Fleet
As of December 2016, the VietJet fleet includes the following aircraft: