The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has reported to the Ministry of Transport (MoT) its approval for the establishment of Vinpearl Air with a fleet of 30 aircraft by 2025, according to the agency’s Director Dinh Viet Thang.
Illustrative photo.
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In a proposal submitted to Hanoi’s Department of Planning and Investment, Vinpearl Air said it plans to start commercial operation by July next year with six narrow-body aircraft.
With a total investment of VND4.7 trillion (US$202.3 million), the airline plans to add six planes on average per year to expand its fleet to a total of 36 by 2025.
However, the CAAV noted a fleet of 36 aircraft by 2025 could exceed the market demand and requested Vinpearl Air to scale down its fleet to 30 by 2025.
Vinpearl Air said it would operate narrow-body aircraft such as Airbus A320, A321 or Boeing 737 and wide-body jets Airbus A330, A350 or Boeing 787. By 2025, the airline targets to have a flight network of 62 domestic and 93 international routes.
Vingroup previously renamed its subsidiary VinAsia Development Service and Trading to Vinpearl Air with charter capital of VND1.3 trillion (US$56 million).
As per Vietnamese legislation, an airline needs to have registered capital of at least US$56 million to operate up to 30 airplanes on domestic and international routes.
VinAsia Tourism Development JSC, another arm of Vingroup, holds a 45% stake at Vinpearl Air, while businessmen Hoang Quoc Thuy and a senior executive at Vingroup Pham Khac Phuong hold 30% and 25% stakes at the company, respectively.
Vietnam currently has five operational airlines, including Vietnam Airlines, budget operator Jetstar Pacific Airlines (partly owned by Vietnam Airlines), budget carrier Vietjet Aviation, Vietnam Air Services (VASCO) and Bamboo Airways, which flew for first time in January this year.
In early July, Vingroup and Canada-based flight training provider CAE signed an agreement to cooperate in training pilots and aircraft engineers, with an aim of providing 400 pilots and aircraft engineers every year meeting standards set up by the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV), US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
